Home » Jazz Articles » Oluyemi Thomas
Jazz Articles about Oluyemi Thomas
Oluyemi Thomas: Positive Knowledge
by Martin Longley
Oluyemi Thomas, the sage-like reedman from Oakland, California, is heading to town this month and will be playing in a duo setting with New York drummer and percussionist Michael Wimberley, whom he describes as both creative-minded and creative-spirited." It's the spiritual sphere--however this is defined, impossible to nail down--that appears to guide much of Thomas' journey. In recent times, there's been much talk of spiritual jazz as a genre unto itself and if such a musical category exists, then surely ...
read moreOluyemi Thomas: Before the Beginning
by Rex Butters
Recorded live at the 2002 High Zero Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, Before the Beginning documents Oluyemi Thomas in action. Under recorded and wildly original, Thomas prowls a boundless unknown through whichever horn he blows. The program presents Thomas as the constant playing with a changing configuration of partners. The CD divides the near-continuous performance into six movements.
Opening with airy atmospherics, 'Humbled & Grateful' quickly finds Thomas' rich and reedy bass clarinet exchanging ideas with Baker's piano. Thomas ...
read more