PAPATAMUS REDUX

Omar Thomas Large Ensemble: Groit Songs

OMAR THOMAS MUSIC  (RELEASED FEBRUARY 7, 2025

This weekend, my wife and went to see two critically acclaimed movies at our local arts film cinema. We walked away from both saying, “What was that all about?” Although I was anticipating listening to Groit Songs, the latest release from the Omar Thomas Large Ensemble, over that same weekend, my reaction was like that at the movies — “What was that all about?” So, after sitting through almost 90-minutes of music, I turned to the promotional materials (something I rarely do before listening so as not to be impacted, positively or negatively, by the hype). According to the comments, each of the pieces on the album — five original compositions and a pair of inspired arrangements traverse a wide swath of emotional terrain. The often epic lengths allow the music to breath and evolve through Thomas’ intricate architecture and the fervent soloing of his stellar ensemble. True, the solos from folks such as soprano saxophonist Lihi Haruvi, trumpeter Jason Palmer, baritone saxophonist Brian Landrus, guitarist Mark Cocheo and others soar above the light to dense vamps of Thomas’ 15-plus large ensemble. It’s the wide swatch of emotional terrain that leaves me cold . Tunes vary from the swing-like quality of “The Sun in September” and the anthem-like grandeur of “Sail to the Moon” to the film noirish soundtrack nature of “Obeah Woman” and the slow and steady groove of  Lyle Mays’“Episode D’Azur” to the Spanish folk-like opening and closing of Christian Sirano’s “A Touch of Obsidian, A Flash of Scarlet.” According to Thomas, “All of these pieces are personal to me for different reasons, but they work together as a cohesive story that I’m telling the listener.” Like those movies that I saw this past weekend, “What was that story all about?” Those two movies we saw received numerous Academy Award nominations. Shows you what I know. So my best recommendation about Griot Songs is this — if you are a fan of modern large ensemble jazz in the tradition of some of Thomas’ mentors such as Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, Ken Schaphorst and Frank Carlberg, invest 90 minutes in listening to Griot Songs and see if you “get it.”

BOTTOM LINE: Writing five epic length compositions and arranging two other tunes for the almost 90-minute Griot Song was a daunting task for award-winning composer and arranger Omar Thomas. Despite some excellent solos from members of his Large Ensemble,  the diverse range of emotions expressed in these compositions may make it a daunting task for listeners as well.