Mike Thornton - Homeward (2018) 320kbps

Personnel:
Dave Kane: piano; Amy Shook: bass; Leland Nakamura: drums; Graham Breedlove: trumpet/fluglehorn; Bob Butta, piano; Bruce Swaim: saxophone; Steve Zerlin, bass; Fran Tokarz: bass; Peter Primamore: keyboards; Tom Major: drums; Aaron Dean: saxophone.


“In the jazz-pop spectrum, he fits somewhere between Mark Murphy and Steve Tyrell — not bad company.”
Mike Joyce, Washington Post

“He’s unique. Twisting each vowel and consonant into a series of related musical tones, he gathers the best of both worlds: the dexterity of an instrumentalist and the lyrical passion of a singer.” “Thornton shows his deep love for fun-loving Swing, soulful ballad interpretations and uptempo romps with a clear, baritone voice and vibrant expression.”
Jim Santella, Cadence Magazine

“[In Thornton’s Step Back CD] the moods shifts are frequent, colorful and often challenging. Thornton certainly has no problem evoking finger-snapping nonchalance, as evidenced by ‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter’ …. And Thornton celebrates the genius of vocalese great Jon Hendricks, via a scat-laced ‘Joy Spring,’ with similar ease. A classic pop-to-bop transformation (‘How High the Moon/ Ornithology’), a tart Ellington-inspired excursion (‘Caravan’) and some hushed boomer balladry (Lennon and McCartney’s ‘And I Love Her’) help round out the program and underscore Thornton’s winning versatility.”
Mike Joyce, Washington Post

“Thornton shows his deep love for fun-loving Swing, soulful ballad interpretations and uptempo romps with a clear, baritone voice and vibrant expression.” “….a Jazz singer who possesses the right combination of skills to make things work out in almost any situation.”
Jim Santella, Cadence Magazine