Micah Thomas: Reveal (CD Review)

by Karl Nehring

Little Doctor (take 2); Look at the Birds; Lightning; Eros; Sacred Memory; Little Doctor (take 1); Stars; Troubled Mind; Denardirn. Micah Thomas, piano; Dean Torrey, bass; Kayvon Gordon, drums. Artwork Records ARTR004CD

 

Those who have been following Classical Candor for a while know that I periodically throw in a review of a jazz album along with a brief explanation of why I believe jazz ought to be taken seriously as a form of chamber music. In this particular case, we have music by a piano trio: a jazz piano trio consisting of piano, bass, and drums, as opposed to a classical piano trio, which would consist of piano, violin, and cello. A famous example of the latter was the so-called “Million-Dollar Trio” of pianist Arthur Rubinstein, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, and violinist Jascha Heifetz. They were given the nickname by a critic; unfortunately, Rubinstein hated the name so much that he couldn’t wait to leave the group, so their career was a brief one. A much more enduring example was the fames Beaux Arts Trio, which was anchored by its founding pianist Menahem Pressler throughout its 53-year career. 

 

Notable jazz piano trios of the past have included the Bill Evans Trio, Keith Jarrett’s “Standards” Trio, and the Esbjörn Svensson Trio; current leading jazz piano trios include The Brad Mehldau Trio, the Bobo Stenson Trio, GoGo Penguin, and the Vijay Iyer Trio. Now we have another young pianist leading a trio – and Micah Thomas, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1997, is clearly ready to enter the upper echelon. His musical life started young, picking out tunes on the keyboard at 2, playing concerts with as a high schooler with jazz violinist Christian Howes, earning a scholarship to Juilliard, going on to play with jazz luminaries such as Lage Lund, Immanuel Wilkins, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Billy Drummond. 

 

On Reveal, he works with bassist Torrey and drummer Gordon to bring us nine tracks that they recorded in one seven-hour session. What is especially interesting is that Thomas reveals that they “recorded it in the same room without isolation booths and with only minimal buffering, and while that set-up came with its own challenges (mainly, not being able to hear everything everybody was playing with crystal clarity through headphones), I think that we all benefitted from a powerful sense of relaxed creativity, and the actual experience of creating one unified sound.” The three musicians combine to produce music that swings, sparkles, and stimulates. Thomas can play with speed and power, yet he never seems to be playing an extra unneeded note. The music is clean, it’s tight, and it’s easy to recommend.