Leon Thomas
Amos Leon Thomas Jr (* October 4, 1937 in East St. Louis, Illinois; † May 8, 1999 in New York City ) was an American jazz singer and percussionist of the avant-garde. His most famous stylistic device was the 1968 often interwoven in vocals transition to a distinctive triple blow - yodel. One example is the 1969 resulting from his collaboration with tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders half-hour play, The Creator Has a Master Plan on his album Karma.
Life and work
Thomas initially joined on with Grant Green, Jimmy Forrest, and Hank Crawford and studied music at Tennessee State University in Nashville. He then sang at Ben Thigpen, toured with Art Blakey and joined Mary Lou Williams ( Live At Town Hall ). In 1961 he took the place of Joe Williams in the band of Count Basie, in which he - interrupted by military service - remained until 1965. Then he worked with, among others, Randy Weston, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Archie Shepp, before he became a member of the band of Pharoah Sanders was the end of 1968 and wrote lyrics for his compositions. Since then, he put his own albums in quick succession before (including with Oliver Nelson), on which he performed alongside pieces from the jazz avant-garde also standards such as Bag 's Grove or Song for My Father and turned against the Vietnam War, his Damn Nam Blues. In 1970 he appeared with Nucleus in London and at the Montreux Jazz Festival. After 1972, Thomas moved progressively back from the jazz scene and worked more in the merger and the Blue area, such as Carlos Santana (Welcome, 1973) and on his own album Full Circle (1973). In 1979 he worked with Louis Hayes and Freddie Hubbard. Mid-1980s, he occasionally worked with Sanders back together and was part of the quintet of Joe Henderson, with whom he performed in many countries and at major festivals. In 1987, he appeared with Gary Bartz, before 1988 with his own Leon Thomas Blues Band grossed an album. He also took up with Louis Armstrong (1970 ), Johnny Hodges (1970 ), Theresa Brewer (1972 ), David Liebman (1976 ), Jamaaladeen Tacuma (1986) and with Jeri Brown ( 1998).
The readers of Down Beat voted him in their poll 1970-1973 for best jazz singers.
Thomas died in 1999 of heart failure.
Disco printing specifications
- Pharoah Sanders: Karma ( 1969) ( pulses)
- Spirits of the Known and Unknown ( 1969) ( Flying Dutchman )
- The Leon Thomas Album ( 1970) ( Flying Dutchman )
- Live in Berlin with Oliver Nelson ( 1970) ( Flying Dutchman )
- Gold Sunrise on Magic Mountain (live 1971) ( Flying Dutchman )
- Blues and the Soulful Truth ( 1972) ( Flying Dutchman )
- Full Circle ( 1973) ( Flying Dutchman )
Compilations
- Facets ( Flying Dutchman, 1969-1973 )
- Anthology ( Soul Brother Records, 1969-1985 )
Lexigraphic entries
- Ian Carr et al Jazz Rough Guide Metzler, Stuttgart 1999; ISBN 3-476-01584- X