Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Thomas: Event Horizon

Michael Thomas: Event Horizon

By Jerome Wilson
July 21, 2020
View read count

Jimmy Katz seems to really be onto something with his Giant Step Arts label. Begun in 2018, the label has established a tradition of recording live performances by modern jazz musicians given complete freedom of repertoire and personnel. That approach has produced several outstanding releases including, earlier this year, The Concert: 12 Musings For Isabella, (Giant Step Arts, 2020) by trumpeter

Jason Palmer

trumpet
b.1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Palmer, who also appears on the label's latest release, this time as a sideman for alto saxophonist

Michael Thomas

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Thomas.

Thomas and Palmer are captured live in a loose, swashbuckling quartet with

Hans Glawischnig

bass
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Hans Glawischnig on bass and

Johnathan Blake

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnathan Blake on drums. Thomas' alto has a soulful, freewheeling sound. Like

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman and

Oliver Lake

saxophone
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Oliver Lake he can be both exploratory and earthy at the same time. Jason Palmer, meanwhile, plays

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry to Thomas' Coleman, blowing bubbly, high-wire acrobatics in contrast to the alto's intense heat. They take their time building solos. Thomas often starts quietly and ripples into high-register flights while Palmer answers him with smears, stutters and brash calls to arms. With Glawischnig and Blake stoking the fire underneath, the group creates a swaying, seductive flow of rapturous music.

The quartet plays passionately in all manner of tempos and settings. On "Dr. Teeth" the rhythm section stalks with a creeping bass pulse and New Orleans flair on the drums while Palmer struts and Thomas dances. "Drift" rolls out slower and cooler with the horns lazily stretched out on the melody. Thomas blows long, graceful lines like

Lee Konitz

saxophone, alto
1927 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Lee Konitz, gradually getting faster as the tempo increases and Blake's drum rolls intensify. "Chant" has the horns rolling together over a bumpy pulse and "Underground" moves at a slow, seductive pace on a melody that resembles

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane's "Equinox," trumpet and alto quietly surging and singing in unison as Blake rumbles on his drums.

"Event Horizon" is a relatively compact mood piece with the horns playing an ominous long-toned melody that could soundtrack a movie scene of a rocket traveling through space. Thomas and Palmer play closely together over Blake's mallet work and Glawischnig's arco bass before scampering into a quiet, bluesy dialogue. On "Fox and Cat" everyone relaxes and has double-time fun with classic bebop rhythms.

This set is explosive and compelling. Michael Thomas' blistering alto sound plays perfectly off Jason Palmer's soaring trumpet while the Glawischnig-Blake rhythm team give them outstanding support. This is small group jazz of the highest quality, imaginative, fiery and powerful. It is also, amazingly enough, just Michael Thomas' second recording as a leader. He sounds like a major force to follow and this volcanic concert is one of the year's best recordings.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Disc One: Distance; Drift; Bass Intro; Dr. Teeth; Framework. Disc Two: Sax Intro; Chant; Underground; Drum Intro; Event Horizon; Fox and Cat.

Personnel

Michael Thomas

trumpet

Jason Palmer

trumpet

Hans Glawischnig

bass

Johnathan Blake

drums

Album information

Title: Event Horizon | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Giant Step Arts

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Highlights of the Final Decade of th...
< Previous

Koneko
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.