The third release by the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble is just as bold as the last, We Will Know: An LGBT Civil Rights Piece in Four Movements, released more than 10 years ago. Griot Songs is a nod to the West African tradition of sharing community history and tradition through storytelling.
Featured are a series of bold and vivid compositions by Thomas, many dating back to 2008. The award-winning composer has surrounded himself with an equally impressive group of players to bring his bold vision to light. Thomas composed five of the album’s epic tracks and incorporated two additional songs that mirrored his vision.
“The Sun in September” is a composition from several years ago but seems as urgent as anything today. The radiant solos by Jason Palmer and soprano saxophonist Lihi Haruvi add to the composition’s vibrant arrangement and impact. “Sail to the Moon” continues to bring the heat. This inventive update by the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble continues the forward-leaning theme of the Radiohead song while providing a new and bold dynamic.
The original composition “Nothing There” is another epic track that wears its melancholy on its sleeve yet never falls into the cliche. Thomas’ use of horns, percussion and piano conspires to create a moody and provocative track that is both sad and hopeful.
The closing epic, “A Touch of Obsidian, A Flash of Scarlet,” may not move me as much as “Obeah Woman” or the Lyle May composition “Episode d’ Azur” (originally recorded for We Live Here by the Pat Metheny Group), but that would be a rather tall order. As the title suggests, the song is dynamic with shifting palettes of color, creating synesthesia through its intertwined horn parts, bold use of fretted instruments, and dynamic time signature changes.
The seven tracks on the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble’s Griot Songs do the impossible in creating an album that is more excellent than the sum of its parts.
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