Jazz Articles about Ron Thomas
Shining A Light On Pianist Ron Thomas
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist / composer Ron Thomas (b. 1942), was introduced to the piano by his father, Buddy, a self-taught player who learned the art of the ivories by analyzing piano roll performances. Ron was, according to his biography, three or four years old at the time. Those early lessons took root, and then along came Marilyn Monroe. In 1957, Thomas had the good fortune to see The Seven Year Itch, a film that featured Monroe, and a soundtrack that included Sergei ...
read moreScenes From A Voyage To Arcturus
by Dan McClenaghan
Scottish writer David Lindsay published his A Voyage To Arcturus in 1920. It is said to have influenced everyone from C.S. Lewis in the writing of his Space Trilogy to J.R.R. Tolkien to Clive Barker. The story concerns a character Muskull and his fantastical journey across the planet Tormance that orbits the star Arcturus. And while the external landscapes encountered are surreal, so too are Muskill's inner landscapes, and the music. “Lindsay's fantasy eludes analysis," pianist/composer Ron Thomas ...
read moreRon Thomas / Paul Klinefelter: Duo
by Budd Kopman
One of the wonderful things about jazz is that it can be appreciated from more than one angle, oftentimes simultaneously: pure entertainment, art as entertainment, art as beauty and art as intellect among others. Some of this, of course, relates to music in general, but jazz as a genre has moved beyond any stylistic boundaries to the point where no one can claim any particular sub-genre to represent “jazz." This push-pull aspect of jazz allows a player to ...
read moreRon Thomas/Paul Klinefelter: Duo
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Ron Thomas' talents range widely, from his Karlheinz Stockhausen-influenced electric outings like Elysium (Vectordisc, 2009), through his fluid free association piano trio sets, Music In Three Parts (Art Of Life Records, 2006) and Doloroso (Art of Life Records, 2006), to his mainstream outings that draw their inspiration from the late pianist Bill Evans--Two Lonely People (Vectordisc, 2011) and Blues For Zaranthustra (Art Of Life Records, 2008), a pairing a duo set with bassist Paul Klinefelter. Duo is ...
read moreRon Thomas: Duo
by Victor L. Schermer
The poet John Keats famously wrote: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever." That's the kind of album this is. It's one stretch of beautiful playing from beginning to end. It's not a “statement," it's not a “thing," it's not a “groove." It's just music that, taken as a whole becomes an “objet d'art," something special to have in your collection and listen to over and over again because its perfection draws you towards it. Pianist Ron ...
read moreRon Thomas Trio: Impatience
by Dan Bilawsky
A brief glance at pianist Ron Thomas' website is enlightening, to say the least. He chronicles his life there, providing a detailed biography, a rundown of commercially available compositions, a list of his colleagues, mp3 files, a discography, essays, videos, photos, teaching information, and a list of influences, with names both familiar (Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock) and relatively unknown (Ron Dewar, Dennis Sandole) to many jazz fans and musicians. But to really get to know Thomas, you need only spend ...
read moreRon Thomas: Impatience
by C. Michael Bailey
There is something elemental about the jazz piano trio. It is classically called the “Rhythm Section," that practical subset of a larger ensemble that produces the pulse that propels the band and compositions the band plays. It is also the most enduring of jazz performance formats that has included the giants of jazz. Whether it is the cathedral of Oscar Peterson, the interior world of Bill Evans or the durable consistency of Red Garland and Gene Harris, the jazz piano ...
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