The Assumption, by Michele Thomas

The Assumption

by Michele Thomas

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Jazzfuel Heard a few clips already and am very excited about this one!

	No More 00:00 / 04:43

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6 panel full-color digipak with photography by Kyle LaMere and artwork by Bretton Himes including lyrics and liner notes.

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1.	No More 04:43	info	buy track
2.	Love Dance 07:38 video	info	buy track
3.	I Know Because You Told Me So 07:01 video	lyrics
I Know Because You Told Me So Can’t you see them look at me as I walk into the room? Why does everybody look at me? Do I outshine the sun and moon? All of this you say to me, as if you really didn’t know. But I know because you told me so. From the pharaohs of antiquity to the Zulu kings of old. The most golden of a family tree twas to you no doubt bestowed. This message you relay to me bashful irony in tow. But I know because you told me so. Maybe I’m dumb and blind of the line between the acts of true self-love or self-adulation. Too long on the other side of that wall I’ve been, in my chamber of self-depreciation. Can’t you see them look at me? A thousand eyes can never lie. I’m a single batch variety. None more different than I. All of this you say to me, like you alone had broke the mold. But I know because you told me so.
4.	These Days 06:20	lyrics	buy track
These Days That girl from way back when She didn’t know what she had She didn’t know who she was All she ever did was depend on your love, your love Love of a mother, sister Love that was fierce and true Love of a martyr, soldier Love I imperfectly knew for a time I look up from the days that pass and find my tears have fogged the hourglass… …and realize these days are so much shorter since you’ve been gone But I’m standing much taller than I had before Who knew that your shoulders stayed beneath my feet all along Maybe that door never closed Memories that hold me fast Wash up upon my mind Like tea leaves in my mug Like chocolate strawberry smiles we once shared back then I stand in awestruck of your Backbone of peace and light I reach back for your power To persevere through this fight one more day Then I look in the mirror and see that everyday you’re looking back at me… …and realize these days are so much shorter since you’ve been gone But I’m standing much taller than I had before Who knew that your shoulders stayed beneath my feet all along Maybe that door never closed Ah Marie, you fought the good fight with the softness of the haze glow from the rainbow jettisoned from a bitter storm… From this cruel providence The fortitude of your strength was magic Nothing short of magic What you brought, magic What you left, magic In my heart where you will always stay But these days are so much shorter since you’ve been gone But I’m standing much taller than I had before Who knew that your shoulders stayed beneath my feet all along Maybe that door never closed These days my heart has grown fonder with distance and time Never knowing the fullness of your love in this life I always wonder if I would be the same if you could’ve stayed. These days are so much shorter But I’m standing, I’m standing much taller Right on your shoulders, right on your shoulders I always wonder if I would be the same if you could have stayed
5.	Plot And Stone 05:36	lyrics	buy track
Plot And Stone Do you know how long ago it was? The woman asked of me I said, “I’m not sure…”, as the shame filled up behind my eyes to the edge of it’s bitter sting She said, “Here’s the plot and here’s the stone” And she handed me a card I walked away and back through the door towards the reckoning of my heart Through a sea of stone I waded to find a memory unwanted I wasn’t sure what I’d find there I only hoped that I might hear your voice whispering, “I’m sorry” I remember from the armchair of the living room you bellowed your decree The final act of a dying man letting go of what couldn’t be Feeble angry words filled the room from wall to wall It was the last time I’d hear your voice in my memory at all You must have wanted to command time with fleeting moments leaving you behind Staring down fate in your crosshairs Forgetting in fact it was I there…wounded But you never saw me Now I can’t find you here It’s just a plot and stone But even though you’d gone away You couldn’t leave me alone I can’t find you here I left you on your throne And the scattered memories I have left don’t even have a home anymore So I came in search of answers to the questions that went unheard Loud were the words that you once gave But louder the silence that soon came so strong Now I need to hear you... But I can’t find you here It’s just a plot and stone But even though you’d gone away You couldn’t leave me alone I can’t find you here I left you on your throne And the scattered memories I have left don’t even have a home anymore I can’t find you here It’s just a plot and stone But even though you’d gone away You couldn’t leave me alone I can’t find you here I left you on your throne And the scattered memories I have left don’t even have a home anymore
6.	Dark 03:39	lyrics	buy track
Dark …and they call me Dark as the dirt Dark as the earth from whence your sustenance comes From where the fuel of the world flows Gushing pools of fire brandishing the land and seas Black as the night Black as the sky when it’s time for restoration Rejuvenate the very cells that make up your matter, your future, your whole. You don’t understand the dark because of your greed for the light But you’re blind to the light because your heart is so cold Black is the scab Black is the seal that protects your wounds And keeps the light from burning what is yet to weak to heal The flesh and bone discerning when the veil of time reveals Only fools scratch it away Scratch it away Scratch it away Scratch it away too soon.
7.	Spiral 06:13	lyrics	buy track
Spiral Bellowing into the void of the noise and the night of the lies, she said these words: “Reclaiming my time” from the fools (clowns) who would evade it Diving into the waters deep to save it Staring into the face of the hate and the eyes that despise, she could be heard… Speaking truth to verb in all it’s iterations and formations Yea, though she walked through his darkness of pride, she nevertheless persisted. And then resisted all the fears we know were made to hold us, ran up the poles; a bogus conquest of inadequacy Shouting into the clouds of smoke and the mirrors of hoax, she said these words: I shall not be moved and justice will flow through me…
8.	Autumn Nocturne 05:54	info	buy track
9.	I Carry 05:50	info	buy track
10.	Nobody Else But Me 06:22	info	buy track
11.	Can't Find My Way Home 04:34	info	buy track

about

The jazz police have always safeguarded what it’s perceived as their music and culture. Even the dazzling innovations of Charlie “Bird” Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the mid 1940s ruffled feathers as these daring innovators boldly architected new jazz music. Truth is, jazz belongs to everyone, and its vitality is directly linked to its growth. New voices and stylistic shifts keep the music vital by fomenting dialogue and bringing new fans to the fold.

In a time of upheaval, where cultural norms, relationships, and authority are being questioned, jazz singer and songwriter/composer Michele Thomas releases her thought-provoking third album, The Assumption. The 11-song album is a milestone release for Michele. It shows her embracing the full spectrum of her artistry with a stylistically cohesive and creatively adventurous jazz album.

The overarching theme of The Assumption is how we perceive trust in various relational situations, from familial ties, to intimate connections, to how we interact and view the government. The Black Lives Matter movement looms large in this album, as do notions of sexism, and even, subtly, the very idea of what is jazz music—does Blind Faith’s rock standard “Can’t Find My Way Home” belong on a jazz album? The answer is, yes, it’s a stunning closer, much like it made for an explosive finale during Michele’s live performance at The Chicago Jazz Festival.

The Assumption is trisected into song suites. Its first three tracks pose and grapple with notions of trust within ourselves and outside of ourselves. The album opener, “No More” (Laws/Hendricks), is an empowering anthem of individuality. The rousing song has a gospel pulse coursing through it with horn section punctuations, and a simmering rhythm section that grooves like a soul band but harnesses jazz finesse and sense of dynamics. The seductive “Love Dance” (Lins/Peranzzetta/Martins) swings mightily, but also showcases a sly R&B influence—like Michele snuck an R&B ballad inside a mid-tempo jazz tune. Here, her vocals ooze soulful longing while they gracefully ease through the changes and the intricate vocal melody.

The standout of this three-song suite is “I Know Because You Told Me So,” written by Michele Thomas and Damian Espinosa. Here, neo-soul and jazz prove perfect bedfellows as Michele subtly recalls the silken musicality of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. The song has become a live favorite, and many fans feel it’s a bold declaration of confidence. Yet, for Michele, it’s almost a self-talk song with her grappling with being neurotic, keeping her ego at bay while also feeling a sense of self-possession.

In The Assumption’s second chapter, Michele addresses notions of trust and love from a personal standpoint. On the original, “These Days,”... Michele with bold vulnerability addresses the losses of her sister and mother. She captures the all-consuming pain with lyric lines such as: these days are so much shorter since you’ve been gone But I’m standing much taller than I had before/Who knew that your shoulders stayed beneath my feet all along?

The smoky original “Plot & Stone” spotlights Michele’s expansive vocal stylings. Here, she eases through melodious speak-sing passages and soars with flights of fiery vocal musicality showcasing her powerhouse vocals. This is a song about visiting her father’s gravesite 27 years after his passing, and the uneasy peace she’s been forced to make with his life and death.

The smoldering, “Dark,” features stunning moments of vibrato vocalizing and stylistically melds jazz sophistication with gospel purposefulness. This song was written to counter the racist/white supremacist ideologies that have pervaded our socialization for centuries. These ideologies have attached all things evil and deadly to what is essentially a color; black. And then that color was attached to a portion of the human race. Michele’s response to this is nothing exists without darkness. Life, healing, and, even, light come from darkness. Her lyrics here are viscerally poetic, one standout passage reads: Black is the scab/Black is the seal that protects your wounds/and keeps the light from burning what is yet too weak to heal/the flesh and bone discerning when the veil of time reveals/Only fools scratch it away.

A centerpiece of this portion is “Spiral” which is a John Coltrane composition from his seismic album, Giant Steps. For Michele, the music’s descending melodies evokes the feeling of falling into an abyss, and that mirrored the overall challenges women face to have their voices heard amidst all of the inequities in our society. These feelings are powerfully epitomized by the lyrics: Bellowing into the void of the noise and the night of the lies, she said these words.

The third and final installment of the album is the resolution section. This is about understanding one’s place in the world, and while this section is the most consistently “straight ahead,” it concludes with Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” which almost passes as a soul-jazz standard. On “Autumn Nocturne,” Michele taps into the black-and-white-movie romance of classic jazz vocal recordings. Here, her voice is delicately powerful as she conjures the longing inherent in the composition. The song “I Carry” features an E.E. Cummings poem adapted to music written by her close collaborator Damian Espinosa. It also boasts a cameo by singer-songwriter/sound healer Davin Youngs on heavenly background vocals. It fits perfectly between “Autumn Nocturne” and a bubbly swinging version of the Kern/Hammerstein standard, “Nobody Else But Me.” The album concludes with a driving ballad version of “Can’t Find My Way Home” fitted with a clever odd-meter beat that grooves so hard you don’t notice its curious pulse.

The Assumption features Michele’s band which includes A-list Chicago session and jazz musicians. The personnel here is Chris Mahieu, Rhodes piano; Chris Greene, saxophones; Clark Sommers, bass; Neal Alger, guitar; Jeff Hedberg, trumpet; and Darren Scorza, drums. Darren produced The Assumption; served as the album’s mixing and mastering engineer; arranged many of the non-originals; and contributed horn arrangements. He’s also Michele’s husband and the couple have been primary collaborators longer than the length of their 17-plus year marriage. Throughout the album, the band engages in telepathic musical interplay. They are delicately supportive of Michele’s vocals and her emotional intent, but also engage in their own musical dialogues, keeping with the in-the-moment grandeur of jazz.

These days we need an art form as pliable and potent as jazz. We are in a time of radical change, and we need our music alive and pushing forward with innovation. The Assumption is an album for these fiery times. While it respects a tradition, it asks us soulfully: What comes next?

~ Lorne Behrman more

credits

released March 25, 2022

Michele Thomas - Vocals, percussion & keyboards
Clark Summers - Bass
Chris Mahieu - Piano, Rhodes & Wurlitzer
Neal Alger - Guitar (Tracks 1-7, 9-11)
Darren Scorza - Drums, percussion & keyboards

With…
Jeff Hedberg - Trumpets (Tracks 1,3)
Chris Greene - Saxophones (Tracks 1,3,9)
Davin Youngs - Background Vocals (Track 9)

Recorded at Shirk Studio - Chicago, IL
Recorded at Mather Point Studios - Chicago, IL
Mixed & Mastered by Darren Scorza

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about

Michele Thomas Chicago, Illinois

The daughter of a preacher, Chicago singer Michele Thomas brings an irresistible gospel-soul warmth to jazz.
JazzReview.com deemed her as, “one of those new artists that you anxiously wait to hear more from…"

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Contemporary jazz compositions for a new generation. Love the grooves, the forms and the overall expressive fabric of this album, and it is a bassist lead ensemble which makes it all the more unique. Michele Thomas
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