Pariah's Pariah

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Multi-reedsman Gary Thomas has certainly been around over the last ten years. His CV - rather curiously expounded in the sleevenotes to this (typically) wonderfully-packaged CD on producer Stefan Winter's Winter & Winter label - boasts time spent with, among others, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Pat Metheny and Dave Holland. He was one of a set of hard- and post-bop players who helped revive the genre in New York in the mid-80s, proving that there was still a lot of energy and invention possible within the music. A decade on, as this session reveals, he and his colleagues can still find scope to blaze within strict parameters. On the date, recorded in Germany in February this year and co-produced by Thomas himself and Winter, the leader plays tenor sax and flute. He is joined by long-time colleague Greg Osby on alto, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer John Arnold. The music they play collectively - all the compositions are thomas' own - is not in the slightest bit ground-breaking, but that scarcely matters. The rhythm section is blistering, and over them Thomas and Osby weave solos of genuine intensity. It's a revelation to listen to this at the same time as the new Lounge Lizards (reviewed in motion by Mr Hill); that there is still such vitality in this music is remarkable. Lucky for us.