Michele Thomas
Website: www.michelethomas.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelessong
Twitter: www.twitter.com/michelessong
email: [email protected]
Michele Thomas | Messenger
After years of working to establish her name in the Chicago jazz scene with her 1999
debut album, “Iʼll Take Romance”, Michele has emerged with a new outlook on the state of
jazz music...one that has lead her to blend a mixture of gospel, soul, and jazz, by which
she strives to expand her appeal to a more diverse audience. Having already performed in
some of Chicago's legendary music rooms, such as The Green Mill and Green Dolphin
Street, she's already started out on solid ground.
For the release of her second CD, “Messenger” - a musical delving into the introspective
mind and spirit of Stevie Wonder's compositions - Thomas re-enlisted her most trusted
and long-time collaborators: arranger Neal Alger - noted jazz guitarist and member of The
Patricia Barber Quartet; and prominent drummer/ percussionist (as well as her husband)
Darren Scorza, who also debuts his role as producer on this album.
On this project which focuses on much of Stevie Wonderʼs “message songs” (the industry
term for more socially conscious music...) Classics such as "Higher Ground" are given an
"Isaac Hayes" treatment with funky guitars and gritty horn riffs, while more obscure tracks
like “They Wonʼt Go When I Go” and “Big Brother” explore the most contemporary sounds
of the Afropop movement.
For Michele, creating and recording “Messenger” was truly a labor of love. She shares of
her song choices that, “Iʼve always appreciated that Stevie Wonder challenged the status
quo when it came to social justice and religion as it relates to spirituality. I was both
amazed and unsettled with how directly relevant the messages in his music are, even in
our current times. Seems to me those messages bear repeating…” www.michelethomas.net
Release Date: September 30th, 2012
Track Listing
1.
Have A Talk With God
2.
Jesus Children Of America
3.
Dee Song (For Andrea)
4.
Higher Ground
5.
They Won’t Go When I Go
6.
If It’s Magic
7.
Triple Play
8.
Big Brother
Booking:
Michele Thomas
Phone: 773-852-8022
Email: [email protected]
PR Contact:
Caden-Price Creative Consulting
Chrystal Price, director of public relations
517-214-3737
http://www.cadenpricecreativeconsulting.com
CONTACT INFO - 773-852-8022 | [email protected]
Michele Thomas
"Vocalist Michele Thomas is
one of those new artists that
you anxiously wait to hear more
from, after their first CD has
been released. Indeed, if larks
could record CDs, they'd sound
like Michele. She has a style
that is joyful and soulful, her
love for jazz music emanates
through her scats and song
phrasing.”
~ Asha Brodie - JazzReview.com
"Vocalist Michele Thomas is one of those new artists that you
anxiously wait to hear more from, after their first CD has been
released. Indeed, if larks could record CDs, they'd sound like
Michele. She has a style that is joyful and soulful, her love for jazz
music emanates through her scats and song phrasing.
This is one artist that you have no choice but to "dig" and I mean
really sit up and listen. And that goes for even those who may not be
hardcore jazz fanatics. Even if traditional jazz isn't your thing,
Michele's seven track CD “I'll Take Romance” would change your
mind before you could say the title of her CD.
After listening to it off and on since its debut, I have to say that my
favorite cuts are "Marmaduke" and "Black Nile." Both have a nice
delicate energy to them. Michele and her band keep things
percolating nicely, while still never going over the top.
"I'll Take Romance" is definitely something worth listening to on a
quiet night at home with that special someone. If only romance were
as easy to come by as this CD."
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~ Jelani Greenidge, Amazon.com Review
Michele sounds like an old jazz soul on the jazz standard "I'll Take
Romance" and sings it with a level of familiarity as if it were written
for her. Wayne Shorter's "Black Nile" never sounded so good and
Michele shows off her skills as she adds lyrics to this jazz
instrumental standard. Delve into "My One and Only Love" and
Stevie Wonder's "Where Were You When I Needed You" and see
how mellow and pleasant they are. Truly gems.
"(She) has her own vocal sound, which is beautiful by the Grace of
God."
Other songs on the CD include "Mamaduke", "Gentle Rain" and a
unique version of Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday". It is neither
straight-ahead jazz nor bordering on pop music. Just a musical
oddity on a CD that more favors standard-like theme is all. Luckily
for Michele, it turns out just fine."
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~ Asha Brodie, JazzReview.com
"Best singer by far! Great feeling! Great voice! I'm in love!"
"(Michele has) a serious vocal gift. Stevie's "Where Were You..."
took on the colors of autumn with (this) graceful unplugged unit.
Patient, mature accenting; both the voice and the feeling together."
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~ Jenny K., JuliansFlight.com - "Melody for the world"
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~ Kevin Mahogany, Warner Bros. recording artist
"What can I say? (She's) a natural! Wonderful delivery, great scat!"
~ Rick Stone, jazz guitarist, educator
"(She) has a wonderful sense of what goes where, the amount and
color of the voice, the amount and kind of rhythmic articulation and
soul...Extraordinary!"
"As Kornheiser would say, "clahhh-sic".
As debut albums go, this one is especially strong. Michele has
wonderful control and excellent use of tone color. The songs are a
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good mix of vibrant and melancholy; mostly standard straight-ahead !
fare. (Although the Duke's "Come Sunday" treatment could be called
smooth jazz - but not as a euphemism for elevator music).
www.michelethomas.net
~ Yusef Lateef, legendary jazz artist, Grammy award
winner
~ Horace Clarence Boyer, gospel music historian,
scholar, author
CONTACT INFO - 773-852-8022 | [email protected]
Michele Thomas
RADIO
Key of Gee Jazz Break Show
CST Radio | University of Detroit Mercy
91.9 FM (Detroit, Michigan)
http://www.keyofgee.com
Uptown Jazz Network
New Jazz & Blues Show
http://uptownjazznet.webs.com
DigiVegas Online Podcast and Radio
http://www.digivegas.com
Banana Peel Radio
http://www.bananapeelradio.com
Women Of Substance Radio Show
http://www.live365.com/stations/breenoble
CHICAGO CLUBS/VENUES
Studio 914
The Heartland Café
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Pete Millerʼs
Cuatro
Braxton's Seafood Bar & Grill
Coq DʼOr Room at The Drake Hotel
Moonstruck Cafe (Champaign, IL)
River East Art Center
Main Street Jazz & Blues (Belleville, IL)
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Philanderʼs Oak Park
Gigiʼs Jazz And Supper Club
The Blue Point Oyster Bar
Borderʼs Books And Music
The Green Mill
Friendship Park Conservatory
Big Joeʼs 2&6
WRRG Triton College Radio
www.wrrg.org
88.9 FM (River Grove, Illinois)
FESTIVALS
INTERVIEWS
Northwestern University: Lunch on the Lake
(Evanston, IL)
November 2009
Chicago State University Television
CSU-TV
Well Rounded Radio
http://www.wellroundedradio.net
WDCB College of DuPage Public Radio
http://wdcb.org
90.9 FM (DuPage , Illinois)
WBEZ Public Radio
91.5 FM (Chicago, Illinois)
WSIE Jazz Public Radio
www.wsieradio.com
88.7 FM (Edwardsville, St. Louis)
Blue Water Grill
Soul Cafe
100 South Chop House & Grill
Portofino's Italian Bistro
Cafe Luna
Green Dolphin Street
Katerinaʼs
The Gateway Bar & Grill
Fly Me To The Moon
The Chopin Theatre
www.michelethomas.net
River Forest Summer Festival (River Forest,
IL)
Winter Delights Festival (The Shops at
Northbridge - Chicago, IL)
Pearlfest 2000 (Chicago, IL)
The Edison Park Festival (Chicago, IL)
November 2002
"Standards in Jazz" with Ross Gentile
WSIE Jazz Radio
88.7 FM (Edwardsville, St. Louis)
September 2001
The "Jazzarena" with Tom Macek
WRRG Triton College Radio
88.9 FM (River Grove, Illinois)
Vagsöfolk Midsummer Festival (Sweden)
“Gospel Nights” Music Festival (Sweden)
CONTACT INFO - 773-852-8022 | [email protected]
Messenger
|Michele Thomas
ALBUM CREDITS:
MICHELE THOMAS - VOCALS
NEAL ALGER: GUITAR
BOB LOVECCHIO: ELECTRIC AND UPRIGHT BASS
DARREN SCORZA: DRUMS, PERCUSSION AND
KEYBOARD
CHRIS MAHIEU - KEYBOARD
WITH:
JOE LILL - TRUMPET
MATT SHEVITZ - SAXOPHONE
NIXON OMOLLO - BACKUP VOCALS
SHADONNA WARE - BACKUP VOCALS
PHILLIP PAIGE - BACKUP VOCALS
ARLENE PENAFLORIDA - BACKUP VOCALS
PRODUCERS:
DARREN SCORZA, MICHELE THOMAS
RECORDED MIXED AND MASTERED AT:
MATHER POINT MUSIC BY DARREN SCORZA
Digital Release: September 2012
CD Release: March 2013
Website: www.michelethomas.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelessong
Twitter: www.twitter.com/michelessong
email: [email protected]
www.michelethomas.net
CONTACT INFO - 773-852-8022 | [email protected]