Leon Thomas facts for kids

Leon Thomas (born Amos Leon Thomas Jr. on October 4, 1937) was an American singer. He was famous for his jazz and blues music. Leon was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. He was known for his unique singing style. This style included a special sound called a 'glottal-stop' and yodeling. He was active in the late 1960s and 1970s. Leon Thomas passed away on May 8, 1999.

Life and Music Journey

Leon Thomas was born on October 4, 1937. His full name was Amos Thomas, Jr. He grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. Leon loved music and studied it at Tennessee State University. While studying, he began singing with jazz bands. He performed with musicians like Armando Peraza, Jimmy Forrest, and Grant Green.

Seeing saxophonist John Coltrane play with Miles Davis in the 1950s greatly influenced Leon. In 1959, Thomas moved to New York City. He sang at the famous Apollo Theater. He performed with groups like The Jazz Messengers and singer Dakota Staton. In 1961, he joined the Count Basie Orchestra. However, he soon left to serve in the army.

After leaving the army in the late 1960s, Leon Thomas returned to music. He first worked with the jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. In 1969, Leon released his first solo album. It was on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label.

Thomas became very well known for his work with Pharoah Sanders. A famous song they did together was "The Creator Has a Master Plan" from Sanders' 1969 album Karma. Leon Thomas had a very special way of singing. He would often start yodeling in the middle of a song. This unique style has influenced other singers. These include James Moody, Tim Buckley, and Bobby McFerrin. Leon once said he developed this style after breaking his teeth before a show.

Throughout the 1970s, Thomas recorded many popular albums for Flying Dutchman. He also performed with bands led by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and guitarist Carlos Santana. He toured with the Santana band in 1973. Later, he appeared on recordings with saxophonist Gary Bartz and singer Jeri Brown. In the mid-1970s, he officially started using "Leon" as his middle name.

In the 1990s, Leon Thomas's music became popular again. His songs, which mixed spiritual and African influences with soul jazz, were called "kosmigroov" music. Many record collectors and club deejays rediscovered his work. In the late 1990s, Thomas toured the US and Europe. He performed with a band called Blueswing. Leon Thomas passed away on May 8, 1999, from heart failure caused by leukemia. He was in a hospital in the Bronx, New York.

His Unique Singing Style

Leon Thomas has been called the "John Coltrane of jazz vocalists." Music experts say he combined different singing techniques. These included scat singing (making sounds with the voice), African vocal traditions, and his special way of yodeling. He performed spiritual and soulful vocals. Some say his yodeling was influenced by Pygmy yodeling techniques.

According to Ben Ratliff from The New York Times, Leon Thomas started as a regular blues-jazz singer. He had a strong tenor voice. But by the mid-1960s, he began exploring new musical ideas. He spent time with young jazz musicians who looked to Africa and the East for inspiration.

Thomas then developed his unique "ululating" singing style. This style has been compared to African Pygmy and American Indian singing. He later called it "soularphone." He believed his ancestors gave him his flexible throat. He always used this special way of singing.

Music critic Robert Christgau wrote about how important Thomas's voice was. He said Leon expanded what the human voice could do in music. Christgau felt Thomas was as powerful as famous blues singers like Joe Williams. He also said Thomas was as creative as Ella Fitzgerald when it came to scatting. But for Christgau, Leon Thomas went even further. He turned scatting from a clever trick into a deep, ancient call from within.

AllMusic critic Thom Jurek was very impressed by The Leon Thomas Album (1970). He wondered why Leon Thomas wasn't more famous. Critic Tom Hull said that in simpler times, Thomas would have been a classic "blues shouter."

Discography

As leader

• Spirits Known and Unknown (Flying Dutchman, 1969)
• The Leon Thomas Album (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
• Leon Thomas in Berlin (Flying Dutchman, 1971) with Oliver Nelson
• Gold Sunrise on Magic Mountain (Mega, 1971)
• Blues and the Soulful Truth (Flying Dutchman, 1972)
• Full Circle (Flying Dutchman, 1973)
• Precious Energy (Mapleshade, 1990) with Gary Bartz

As sideman

With Pharoah Sanders

• Karma (Impulse!, 1969)
• Jewels of Thought (Impulse!, 1969)
• Izipho Zam (My Gifts) (Strata-East, 1973)
• Shukuru (Theresa, 1985)
• Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong (Doctor Jazz, 1987)

With Santana

• Welcome (Columbia, 1973)
• Lotus (Columbia, 1991)

With others

• Louis Armstrong, Louis Armstrong and His Friends (Flying Dutchman/Amsterdam, 1970)
• Count Basie, Pop Goes the Basie (Reprise, 1965)
• Jeri Brown, Zaius (Justin Time, 1998)
• Louis Hayes, Variety Is the Spice (Gryphon, 1979)
• Johnny Hodges, 3 Shades of Blue (Flying Dutchman, 1970) with Oliver Nelson
• Dave Liebman, Light'n Up, Please! (Horizon/A&M, 1977)
• Archie Shepp, Kwanza (Impulse!, 1974)
• Malachi Thompson, Spirit (Delmark, 1983)
• Cedar Walton, Soundscapes (Columbia, 1980)