The recent deaths of Kansas City's Marva Whitney and St. Louis' Fontella Bass serve as a solemn reminder that we shouldn't take our divas for granted. The world also lost Etta James, Whitney Houston and Donna Summer in 2012. Mardra Thomas will sing at the Blue Room on New Year's Eve. She'll be accompanied by pianist Reggie Thomas, guitarist Will Matthews, saxophonist Bobby Watson, bassist Nick Jost and drummer Marty Morrison. (Anyone seeking something more low-key and significantly less pricey might consider the duo of Miles Bonny and Eddie Moore at the new
Green Lady Lounge.)
Though they now live in Michigan, where Reggie teaches at MSU, the Thomases are from St. Louis, and they're both really good.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, as you probably found out while searching, they don't have a lot of video or audio material available online. The clip of "Unchain My Heart" is fine - I've run it on my own site - but it only barely hints at what they can do.
Marty Morrison and Nick Jost are St. Louis guys, too, both very solid & versatile players. Those four could carry a show on their own, but add in Bobby Watson and Will Matthews, too, and you've really got some potential there. Here's hoping a lot of folks turn up to hear them at the Blue Room...
Thanks for your helpful insights, Dean. Such disinterest in maintaining an online presence usually precludes discretionary coverage at Plastic Sax. I'm glad I made an exception for the Thomases.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if there are still plasticsaxes produced, so i came to your site, but what i found was nice too - great sound :)
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