MICAH THOMAS

MOUNTAINS

Artwork Records

Micah Thomas, piano; Kweku Sumbry, drums; Kanoa Mendenhall, bass; Adam O’Farrill, trumpet; Immanuel Wilkins, alto saxophone; Nicole Glover, tenor saxophone; Caleb Smith, trombone.

This album by Micah Thomas is the result of a 2022 residency commissioned by New York City’s The Jazz Gallery.  It was recorded ‘live’ over four sets of performances. Thomas has composed every song recorded.

The first tune simply titled “Life” is nearly fourteen minutes long and involves arrangements that encourage the spotlight to shine on the horns. About two minutes into the tune, Micah Thomas takes center stage on his piano, exploring the chord changes with Keith Jarrett-like piano improvisation.

“With ‘Mountains’ I wanted to create a collection that delivers a cathartic, massive experience for both performers and the audience.  It’s about capturing the incredible familial feeling and overflow of spirit that only a large group of musicians can create,” he writes in his press package.

He and bassist Kanoa Mendenhall play around with the melody briefly before the horns re-enter and take over. They feature some of the icons of jazz including Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Immanuel Wilkins on alto, and emerging artist, Nicole Glover on tenor sax. Caleb Smith mans the trombone and together these horns harmonize richly, before each taking off on a solo flight. Towards the tune’s ending, Kweku Sumbry offers an exciting display of his drum skills, with Thomas’s piano accompaniment present to support his creativity.

“Processing” is a trip down a two-minute modern jazz path.  On Lament, Micah develops the melody.  The engineer on the mix lets us down by not lifting the volume on the Thomas piano. Disappointing! I manually turned him up.  Here is a young, talented, innovative pianist and composer, who is bringing something new to the table. This tune spills into “Libre,” a song arrangement that whisks us onto the streets of New Orleans.

Thomas plays with tempos and changes moods like his t-shirts. This is quite clear on his “Libre” tune.  On another of his compositions, “No Answer” he delves into a more Avant-garde arrangement, moving somewhere in between marching drums, cut time, and free expression. This album continues the Micah Thomas work of pushing the boundaries of musical structure, with his own creative expression.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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