The Illusion Of Choice Michael Thomas featuring Manuel Valera, Matt Brewer, Obed Calvaire

• 1Circles08:45
• 2Hokkeshu06:25
• 3Information Paradox06:50
• 4The Other Side04:28
• 5Shades Of Green07:02
• 6Mnemosyne05:40
• 7Darkness And Light07:42
• 8The Illusion Of Choice06:22
• 9It Could Happen To You06:06
• Total Runtime59:20

Info for The Illusion Of Choice

“This was a dream band to write for and play with,” alto saxophonist Michael Thomas says of Manuel Valera, Matt Brewer and Obed Calvaire, his A-list rhythm section on Illusion of Choice, his Criss Cross debut, and fourth leader album. “These musicians can play any style and sound like it’s the only thing they play. I wanted to explore these different areas and cohere them into an album, not sound like tunes stuck together for a CD. Everything was on the table. I wasn’t afraid to develop whatever ideas I came up with, and see where they went."

Although Illusion of Choice features an assembled-for-the-occasion ensemble rather than the working bands documented on his earlier albums, Michael Thomas, 36, considers it "the strongest thing I’ve done so far.” During the four months preceding the September 2023 recording session, Thomas generated eight originals tailored to the tonal personalities of his protean collaborators. They live up to the leader’s ballyhoo, nailing the shifting meters and intervallic challenges of his high-degree-of-difficulty pieces with panache and creative spirit.

“I try to give people enough to understand and absorb, but not so much as to make them wonder what’s going on,” Thomas says. “Particularly with respect to melodies, I’m trying to write tunes that don’t just sound nice, but facilitate playing and improvising as I want.” He adds that, although he plays multiple reeds and woodwinds, the alto saxophone is his creative home. “Alto is where I feel most comfortable, have the most control of my sound, and can express myself most easily.”

The Album was recorded September 14, 2023 at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio, Astoria, N.Y. Recording engineer Mike Marciano did the editing, mixing and mastering at Systems Two in NY. Photography by Anna Yatskevich.

Michael Thomas, alto saxophone
Manuel Valera, piano
Matt Brewer, double bass
Obed Calvaire, drums

Michael Thomas
Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer, and arranger Michael Thomas has been an active member of the New York City jazz community since arriving in 2011. Holding degrees from the University of Miami, New England Conservatory, and The Juilliard School, Michael has performed throughout the United States and abroad, including tours in Central and South America, Europe, Japan, and Russia. He has appeared as a sideman with Brad Mehldau, Dafnis Prieto, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenón, Etienne Charles, and Jason Palmer, and Michael’s talents can be heard on over 30 recordings. According to the New York Times, Michael writes “energetic, tuneful music for both combos and large ensembles”, and All About Jazz describes his playing as “a particular revelation, as he provides superb, well-crafted solos”.

Michael has been commissioned by school and professional ensembles throughout the United States and abroad, and he is currently a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City. Since 2015, Michael has co-lead the Terraza Big Band, and the ensemble’s GRAMMY-nominated debut One Day Wonder, was released in May 2019 on Outside In Music. Michael’s work has been recognized by DownBeat magazine as well as the Keep an Eye competition in Amsterdam, NL, and in 2020 he was chosen by the USAF Airmen of Note as the winner of the Sammy Nestico Award. Michael also participated in the New York Youth Symphony’s First Music commission series in 2016, and he continues to work as an arranger and orchestrator for clients around the world. In addition to his work as a big band composer, Michael regularly leads his quartet, releasing the two-CD live album Event Horizon in May 2020 on Giant Step Arts. His follow up studio recording, Natural Habitat, was released in March 2021 on Sunnyside Records.

Since September 2018, Michael has been a faculty member at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music as an Artist Teacher of jazz saxophone in the Jackie McLean Jazz Studies Institute.

This album contains no booklet.