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| Mike Thompson, Visionary Large Ensemble Leader, Releases "6TH AVENUE," His Debut Big Band Album One of the premiere young large ensemble composers, arrangers, producers and musical entrepreneurs of his generation, MIKE THOMPSON's thriving, multi-faceted career is proof that having great mentors can make a major difference in a musician's creative development. When the Boston native started at the Berklee School of Music in 2016, he had every intention of becoming a high school band director. Within a week attending a harmony class taught by renowned jazz/classical composer Nicholas Urie, Thompson had a greater vision for his future as a composer for large ensembles. It's a road that now leads to his debut album, 6th AVENUE, a triumphant, contemporary big band collection of six Great American songbook standards and four stellar original compositions. The album is a powerful showcase for his adventurous approach to arranging and composition. "Almost from the first minute the class sat down, Nicholas told us that he writes for the Metropole Orchestra, Boston Pops and many others for a living, " says the 26-year-old Thompson, whose primary instruments are vibraphone, marimba and concert percussion. "I was already arranging and writing music for high school marching bands but not for big bands. I asked Nicholas where I should start if I want to write for orchestras. He said that everything starts with large ensembles and big bands." 6th AVENUE was recorded live at Q Division Recording Studios in Cambridge, MA, after a single two-hour rehearsal at a local high school a week earlier. The 17-piece ensemble (five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones and a four-piece rhythm section) comprises mostly veteran players from the local Boston big band scene, including the Backbeat Big Band that plays every Monday in the spring and summer months at the Backbeat Brewing Company. Featured soloists include Grammy winning trumpeter BIJON WATSON, trumpeter JEFF CLAASSEN, trumpeter DAN ROSENTHAL, saxophonists MIKE CAUDILL and IAN BUSS, and pianist MARK SHILANSKY. Thompson gives a special shout-out to third trumpeter SEAN LEE for providing the all-important contracting support throughout. Special guests on the album include vocalist (and self-styled actor, creator and visionary) CHARLIZE VERMAAK and Grammy nominated flutist SARPAY OZCAGATAY, who is also an assistant flute professor at Berklee. While he cites Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, and Igor Stravinsky as some of his greatest influences, Thompson's ever-evolving skills as a producer are rooted in his fascination with pop music – specifically the work of Quincy Jones in the 70s and 80s and Max Martin in the 90s and 2000s. While majoring in jazz composition and contemporary writing and production, Thompson teamed up with songwriter Sam Nickson for an album project, writing string arrangements and co-producing. Word quickly spread about his expertise, which launched his career as a producer. Thompson has since been in demand for his front ensemble composition and arranging as well as show design talents for both marching band and indoor percussion ensembles. An entrepreneur like his father, Thompson plays major roles in two unique music related companies. Hexproof Productions, which he created with Nickson (who became his creative and business partner), is a full-service music production company dedicated to supporting multiple facets of an artist's needs. It is driven by their unique combination of both logistical and creative music production. Thompson is also COO and Director of Sales for the upstart CommonTime Pathways, a unique recruiting platform that helps music colleges find suitable students to match with programs that fit their needs and goals. 6th AVENUE begins with the swaggering, fast swinging joy of Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein's "All the Things You Are, " a tune from the musical Very Warm For May, which Thompson calls "one of the most perfect songs ever." His ensemble brings Cole Porter's sassy classic "Let's Do It" to life with a lively, rambunctious arrangement spotlighting the drama-filled, powerhouse vocals of Charlize Vermaak. The first of Thompson's originals is the sensual, romantic, mid-tempo ballad "Durango Drive, " which he first recorded with the big band of another of his great mentors, Steven Feifke. The multi-tempo, high and low dynamics-filled spin on Harry Warren and Mack Gordon's "There Will Never Be Another You" features dynamic solos by soprano saxophonist Ian Buss and pianist Mark Shilansky. Thompson wrote the album's second original, the alternately coolly sensual and intensely percussive "Parisian Deception, " about an ill-fated trip to Paris. The whimsical, free-spirited arrangement of Cole Porter's highly danceable "Anything Goes" comes from the first big band chart Thompson ever wrote at Berklee. The soulful, easy grooving title track "6th Avenue" is a nostalgic ballad and retroactive ode to the three years he spent living and working in NYC with Nickson when both were students at Berklee. His fanciful, exotic romp through Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Chega de Saudade" is a tribute to vibraphone great Gary Burton, whose version Thompson has always admired. He mines pure Disney magic with a charming waltz arrangement of "Someday My Prince Will Come, " featuring a transcendent flute melody and solo by Sarpay Ozcagatay. Thompson wraps the set with a fourth original, "May, " a moody, contemplative ballad with rising brass flourishes and explosive solos by Mike Caudill, Mark Shilansky and Dan Rosenthal. Since graduating from Berklee in 2021, Mike Thompson has spent much of his time writing, arranging and producing music for others, both in and out of the big band idiom. In addition to being his debut album as an artist and bandleader, 6th AVENUE serves as the perfect representation of the emerging talent's compositional voice and commercial arranging skills. # # # 6TH AVENUE is available digitally on selected platforms, and physical CDs are available for purchase at Amazon at https://amzn.to/4jUcq9c. Track List: 1. All the Things You Are 5:52 2. Let's Do It 5:42 3. Durango Drive 3:59 4. There Will Never Be Another You 6:55 5. Parisian Deception 7:08 6. Anything Goes 2:46 7. 6th Avenue 5:07 8. Chega De Saudade 5:27 9. Someday My Prince Will Come 4:08 10. May 10:43 write your comments about the article :: © 2025 Jazz News :: home page |