www.resolution-group.com

"Hello Caton Castle Family, 
 
[...Well before I eat another nectarine this summer (I haven't gotten a good watermelon yet this year) last week, to a great audience, we had Major Boyd, Darius Scott, Mitchell Coates and Jesse Moody.  This was a first appearance for Darius but I'm sure not his last one.  After the group warmed up the stage a bit, Darius led the rhythm section on 'Someday My Prince Will Come'.   He played a gentle interpretation of this ballad with a flaming conclusion.  The folks I was sitting with said 'that he had magic in his fingers' and an excellent compliment to each of the other solos - that was just the beginning.  By the time the blues came along Darius' fingers really went for it. 
 
Into the second set, the group was joined by veteran sax man Vernon Wolst and he and Major combined to do a 'Jelly Roll' kinda thing with Darius kicking the can on down the road.  But Moody really showed off all night long pushing the ensemble in a way that he usually doesn't do - boy was he on their heels Saturday night!...]

-Leslie"  

feedback@westword.com Michael Thomas Quintet Friday, September 9, Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge, 303-839-5100. By Shawn Bauer  Article Published Sep 8, 2005 Washington, D.C.-based trumpeter Michael Thomas brings his smoking-hot quintet to town for a night of blistering hard bop meets Philly swing. After graduating from Grambling University, Thomas performed with Frank Foster, who was directing the famous Count Basie Orchestra at the time. He sharpened his chops and technique playing with the likes of Jimmy Heath, Buck Hill, Betty Carter and Webster Young. Gaining confidence and experience, his Quintet -- Thomas, pianist Darius Scott, saxophonist Zach Graddy, contrabassist Kent Miller and drummer Frank Williams -- built its powerhouse sound through extensive gigging in New York's brutally critical club and jam-session scene. The group's interplay is tighter than a clenched fist, and its sense of unspoken direction is remarkable. Thomas's Hubbard-like lyricism and precision solos are pure vintage fury mixed with hip, controlled, contemporary sensibilities. Those who gravitate toward that old Blue Note sound should check out his first album, The Messenger, which is a tribute of sorts to Art Blakey. Offer your feedback to this story Previous Articles by Shawn Bauer Kneebody 4 of US Soulive Pick of the Week January 31, 2005
Quintet takes audience back in jazz time
By Johnathan Rogers For The Charleston Gazette
I have long believed that time travel is impossible. This past Friday night, however, the Michael Thomas Quintet planted the first seeds of doubt. In the third installment of the 2004-2005 Charleston Jazz Series, I and several others in the audience had the distinct sensation of being in Manhattan in the 1940s and 1950s on the famous jazz stretch of West 52nd Street. This was where, night in and night out, artists such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and countless others pushed and pulled themselves and the audience to new artistic heights. 52nd Street, along with Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, was the cauldron on the wizard’s workshop, where sweat, booze and cigarette smoke provided the background for high art. Subtract the cigarette smoke, decrease the booze, replace the tiny bars with the elegant confines of Wellington’s, then add the Thomas Quintet’s sweat, hunger and skill, and you are transported back in time to West 52nd Street. “We were marinated in jazz,” said good friend and jazz aficionado Gary Borstein. “They were as clean and sharp as their music.” “It was so nice to see men in suits,” said the always dapper Howard Kenney. “Especially when they can play.” With nicknames like “the Deacon” and “Sparkplug,” there was little doubt about the group’s ability to play. Yet individual excellence does not an excellent group make. Fortunately, after seven years together, the Thomas Quintet played with the confidence and fluidity that comes when individual mastery unites with group cohesion. The group displayed the same prowess whether the song was a ballad, straight-ahead bebop or honky-tonk blues. And it is this, perhaps more than anything, that makes jazz such a uniquely American art. In jazz, a person’s individual creativity is never sacrificed for the sake of the group. In fact, if the group is to flourish, the individual must contribute more to the group. When this happens, even the supposedly impossible becomes possible.
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As the rhythm and horns come crashing down, the first moments of "The Messenger" proclaim something
special - an urgency, an unadorned elbow. Like Winard Harper, Michael Thomas speaks to the Blakey tradition
and the CD's title itself is a message: the pieces (largely originals) and the pulses will remind you of the Jazz
Messengers.

Recorded at Michael Thomas' home studio, this is his debut recording. And he's a dynamic force, rolling along,
bopping and weaving. He can be aggressive ("Tense Moments"), rollicking("Rue de la Harpe"), soulful("Mike's
Blues") - you name it.

As like a good Jazz Messenger, he rarely eases up. Nearly forty minutes in, on "Soul Eyes", he pulls out the
flugelhorn and things drop down. Though he doesn't seem as comfortable now; there's an emotional
disconnect between Thomas's ideas and Mal Waldron's composition. There isn't an uptempo issue, however,
and as if to reinforce this there's a quick fade into "The Warm Up(interlude)," an unabashed swinger, before
"Mike's Blues," a medium walk - soul music Jazz Messenger-style.

The quintet is a solid unit. Tenor saxophonist Zack Graddy makes a real impression: his delicious tone - deep
and rough - paired with a frisky ear makes for a smart combination. The notes may gush out in clumps - a
honk, a trill - or slowly in lines, but he's continually reinventing himself within a solo.

Alto saxophonist Antonio Parker makes two swinging guest appearances, though I would have liked to hear
him straight up against Graddy. While their mandates are similar, they're coming from different strains within a
common tradition.

Drummer Frank Williams provides a constant cascade, piling rhythm upon rhythm. And pianist Darius Scott
knows what each piece needs. On "Tense Moments", for instance, he draws lines out of McCoy Tyner's bag,
but for the most part he's playing on his own terms. The rhythm section's vigorous, intelligent support is
especially noticeable on "The Messenger," where Scott and Williams lock into a compelling conversation behind
the soloists. Bassist Kent Miller, firm and full throughout, walks along.

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"The Messenger"
Open Sky (www.jazzcorner.com) - November 2000
by Willard Jenkins

For DC-based trumpeter Michael Thomas this initial release is the result of a true labor of love. Not one to wait
for a record label to come knocking at his door, Thomas seized the initiative himself, not only starting his own
label and releasing his own debut disc, but also developing his own home studio to lay down these 10
persuasive tracks. Thomas has a brass proud trumpeter's arrogance in sound but not demeanor. The title is an
apt one as the feeling harkens back to Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers without in any way being imitative. And
Mr. Do Everything Michael Thomas also wrote all but three of these tunes, mining the books of Sahib Shihab,
Tina Brooks, and Mal Waldron for the other three. From Waldron's book he beautifully essays the ever-lovely
"Soul Eyes" as a quartet feature for his flugelhorn.

Elsewhere the chores are shared roundly by Thomas' mates the edgy tenor saxman Zack Graddy, bassist Kent
Miller, drummer Frank Williams lV, pianist Darius Scott, and he broadens the band on two tracks with the
energetic altoist Antonio Parker. Highly recommended stuff. Contact: www.jazhead.com

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Jazz at a Glance Volume 123 Al Maniscalco Live at Tidings Park

       Year: 2000

       Record Label: Jalkoda Records

       Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic

       Musicians: Al Maniscalco (saxophones), Darius Scott
       (piano), Eric Kennedy (drums), Jeff Reed (bass)

       Review: LIVE AT TIDINGS PARK captures saxophonist
       Al Maniscalco and his band on a midsummer evening's
       concert. It's not hard to conjure a convivial atmosphere
       of a lush, humid park filled with grown-ups stretching
      out on lawn, children laughing on swings, dogs leaping
       at thrown Frisbees, and the band striking out tunes as
       the brilliant colors of the late afternoon fade to black.

       The taping of the concert was never intended to be an
       album. Maniscalco recorded the performance on his
       mini-disc recorder to be played and erased after his
       review of the concert. What Maniscalco caught was a
       performance in which the band was tight and the
       improvisation wicked. And reflected the setting and the
       mood of a carefree evening in the park.

       The rough recording was re-mixed and mastered to
       bring out the best possible sound qualities. There are
       moments of electrical interference that remain. Rather
       than distract, these actually enhance the feeling of
       attending a live, outdoor concert.

       "If This Isn't Love" starts the set with a blazing
       extended solo by Maniscalco that recalls at different
       times Coltrane and Rollins. Maniscalco simply takes off
       with band in tow and later is spelled by a very delicate
       piano interlude by Darius Scott. Drummer Eric Kennedy
       then breaks up the bucolic sensibility with a brilliant
       dissonant conclusion. Maniscalco recalls the glowing
       sexiness of Dexter Gordon in the beautiful rendition of
       'What A Difference A Day Makes.' Framed by the
       sounds of kids playing nearby, 'Alicia' is a bittersweet
       ballad dripping with heartfelt pangs of departed love.
       While 'Alicia' is stirring up some old ghosts,
       'Inspiration' may be the best of the set. It's a simple
       melody that lends itself to impressive improvisation and
       captures the sublime mood of a summer's twilight.

       While this quartet is not well known outside of the
       Baltimore area, it is worth remembering the name
       should Al Maniscalco and his band come to play in your
       neighborhood park.

       Reviewed by: John Doll

It's not easy to revive the spirits of Davis and Coltrane, but the Todd Butler Group comes about as close as you can get. The ultra-cool
sounds of Todd Butler's trumpet and Kyle Coughlin's saxophone bring to mind the glory days of the masters of be-bop jazz.

Butler is at his best on the anxious downtown sounds of the title track and the quick stepping Del Sasser. He and Coughlin make a great
team on the echoing phrases of Nat's Groove, playing off of each other effortlessly. They also take a high class strut on The Meltdown, and
then cruise into the stop-and-start grooves of Rosie's Place.

This is one of the best jazz albums I've heard in a long while. Butler and his group do a great job of getting to the heart of bop, breathing
new life into it without simply recycling, even throwing in a few originals that could be classics in their own right. Well done.

MISH MASH Mandate: Rebirth of Cool.

                                         Sample 30 seconds of "Lockout"

                                         John Barth, a good musician himself, once advised writers to steer clear of
                                         epitaphs, since they make your reader know what he could be reading instead.
                                         The same probably applies to music. Here, besides a handful of originals,
                                         Baltimore's Todd Butler Group perform pieces by such notables as Wayne
                                         Shorter ("Witch Hunt") and Joe Henderson ("Serenity"), along with the brilliant
                                         work of somewhat lesser known artists like Benny Golson (whose "I
                                         Remember Clifford", a tribute to bop trumpeter Clifford Brown, becomes the
                                         centerpiece here). The band's versions of these classics are all beautifully
                                         done -- sometimes with more energy than the originals themselves -- but still,
                                         anyone with a light wallet must ask this question: why put your money down
                                         on the Todd Butler Group? The answer lies in compositions like Butler's own
                                         "Lockout", Kyle Coughlin's "Like Vertigo" or Darius Scott's "The Meltdown". All
                                         of these stand head to toe with their formidable covers, and the playing is so
                                         boisterous that it delights the part of you that wants traditional jazz to carry all
                                         the spirit from the streets of New Orleans. Running 69 minutes, the results
                                         might be too much of a good thing, but the Todd Butler Group should find avid
                                         supporters among those who like their jazz midway between Steve Coleman
                                         and Maceo Parker. Their brand of jazz is not too adventurous, but the pieces
                                         are complex enough that they don't yearn for vocals, or possess the slightest
                                         air of disposability. -- td

 Lockout is the most recent release from The
 Todd Butler Group. It is wonderful. The first cut,
 which is the title track, got me. Immediately. If
 you like the stuff Carl Filipiak puts out, which I
 love, you'll like this stuff, too. He writes some
 great music, and his chops are fine. Those
 appearing on the record, too, are excellent.

 Listen for Kyle Coughlin (saxophone), Mike Kuhl
 (drums), Jeff Reed (bass), Darius Scott (piano),
 and Jeff Chiaverini (trombone). There's so much
 to get off on ... these guys have great chops,
 and they connect. You can feel it in the music. I
 literally adored the disc. God, what an effort. If
 you're into good music, especially jazz, you just
 have to hear this record!

   Reprinted from Music Monthly - Sept. 2000

       Review: Quality jazz is found just about everywhere. It is not the exclusive
       province of nationally known artists in a few big cities. Musicians wind
       up in a particular location for many reasons. They may be returning home
       from the road. Perhaps they never left. There may be opportunities to
       play, teach or learn. Maybe even a day job. Whatever the reasons they
       find one another. The result may be a powerhouse big band or in this case
       a tightly knit small group, providing a creative outlet for writers and
       players as well as enjoyment for their local audience.

       The Todd Butler Group is based in the Baltimore/Washington area.
       Butler, who is a "first call" trumpet and flugelhorn player and clinician,
       arrived there to attend college. The other hornman is Kyle Coughlin on
       tenor and alto. Coughlin has played jazz in the area for ten years and is
       an educator and recitalist. The formidable rhythm section include two
       music majors and a " relative newcomer to jazz". The "newcomer" is
       pianist Darius Scott who doesn't sound like one.

       This is an high-energy hard bop band with a full ensemble sound built
       around Butler's fiery trumpet and Coughlin's versatility on reeds. They are
       at home with the classics-Wayne Shorter's "Witch Hunt", Joe Henderson's
       "Serenity" and Lee Morgan's "Twice Around." Butler, Coughlin and
       pianist Scott also contribute originals which fit right in with that
       repertoire. For me, the highlights were a Butler original, "Nat's Groove,"
       which does full justice to the title, and "Del Sasser," associated with
       Cannonball and composed by his bassist, the late Sam Jones. The band's
       poignant treatment of "I Remember Clifford," with trombonist Jeff
       Chiaverini added to the mix, illustrates the group's ability on ballads.

       " Superstar players don't automatically make the tightest group. I am
       more concerned about having players who can cut the gig and sound good
       together," said Butler to Music Monthly in 1998. On this debut album he
       sure got the right players and that good sound.

       Reviewed by: Bill Falconer