Draft:John D. Thomas (musician)
Submission declined on 7 March 2024 by Mach61 (talk). This submission is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Reliable sources are required so that information can be verified. If you need help with referencing, please see Referencing for beginners and Citing sources. This submission's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article—that is, they do not show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject in published, reliable, secondary sources that are independent of the subject (see the guidelines on the notability of music-related topics). Before any resubmission, additional references meeting these criteria should be added (see technical help and learn about mistakes to avoid when addressing this issue). If no additional references exist, the subject is not suitable for Wikipedia.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
|
- Comment: Discogs is not an acceptable or reliable source, neither is ESP- DISK (which is essentially an online music retailer). Berklee Online is dubious as it is potentially a primary source. Need better/more reliable independent sources. Dan arndt (talk) 05:32, 5 March 2024 (UTC)
John D. Thomas (born February 25, 1954 in Chicago; † October 12, 2023 in Sallanches, France) was an American fusion and jazz musician (guitar, composer).
Life and Career[edit]
At age 19, Thomas was enlisted as a sideman by both Jimmy McGriff and Joe Henderson for recordings and concerts. In the following years he worked with AACM Big Band, Stanton Davis, Carter Jefferson, Andrew Cyrille, Kenny Drew, John Lewis, Harold Ousley, and Chet Baker. After moving to Germany in 1977, he collaborated with Theo Jörgensmann and founded his own groups such as Lifeforce, with which he performed throughout Europe and released several albums under Nabel Records. In 1978, he joined the Art Taylor Quartet and performed with it until 1984. Over the following years he also toured the Middle East, Africa and the Far East performing extensively with Charles Tolliver (1980–90), Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Malachi Thompson, Sonny Stitt, Tony Scott and Mike Zwerin. Trombonist Mike Zwerin enlisted Thomas for two tours in Africa in 1980 and 81. He also toured and performed at festivals, concerts and clubs throughout Europe and Africa with his own bands: John Thomas and Lifeforce, Serious Business, John Thomas Quartet, and Extremely Serious Business.
In 1980 he received the endorsement of the National Endowments' "Arts America" program, on whose active list he remained for ten years.[1] In 1986 he toured sub-Saharan Africa with his group Extremely Serious Business, which included Markus Becker and Sal La Rocca under the auspices of this U.S. State Department program. Returning to the United States in 1991, he appeared with his own quartet, trio, and an updated version of Extremely Serious Business that performed his own compositions. It was also at this time that he began a two-year stint with organist Charles Earland. Thomas moved to Boston in 1994, where he performed regularly with different formations, including Kenwood Dennard’s Real Thing. He can also be heard on albums with Steve Houben and the German band Bläck Fööss.
Thomas taught as guitar professor at Berklee College of Music from 1994 to 2012 and wrote the book Voice Leading for Guitar: Moving through the Changes. After retiring from Berklee, he moved to Hudson, New York, and then spent his final years in Cluses, in the French Alps. He died of cancer. [1]
Discography[edit]
- Devil Dance (1980/92)
- 3000 Worlds (1981/94)
- Dreams, Illusions, Nightmares and other realities (1981/ 2004)
- Headwall (2015)
- Serious Business (1985/ 2015)
References[edit]
- Entry (Berklee)
- Short biography on ESP
- John Thomas discography at Discogs
- ^ a b "John D. Thomas, legendary guitarist who strummed with jazz greats, dies at 69". Hyde Park Herald. 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
Books