Search - Tommy Flanagan :: Thelonica

Fantastic Jazz

Tim E. | Winston Salem, NC USA | 04/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My girlfriend and I used to go to the Regatta Bar in Cambridge Massachusetts on occasion to see jazz. We bought tickets to see Tommy Flanagan mostly because it fit into our schedule--not because we had any idea what a jazz legend he is. Seeing Tommy play live was a transcendent experience, and not because I had a couple of martinis during the performance. He breaths life into each piece and simply lets them go where they naturally wish to. The results are fantastic. After the show, I had the honor of meeting Tommy and I told him how much I enjoyed his work. He was very polite, even though at 21, I could offer no great insight into jazz. I resolved then to buy his CDs. This was one of them--and perhaps my favorite. It is called Thelonica because they are all pieces written in the style of the great Thelonious Monk. Maybe someday someone will write music in the style of the great Tommy Flanagan. . ."

One of Tommy Flanagan's Best

Peter D. Mark | Seattle, WA | 06/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Flanagan has a really deft touch on the keys. He uses interesting harmonies, creatively varies the melodic line, and employs a wider dynamic range than many other jazz arists. But there's something more - he seems to have an intuitive sense of how to build a larger architectural structure out of the musical material than many other musicians. I have over a dozen albums by Tommy Flanagan. They're all great, but Thelonica and Giant Steps stand out. (By "Giant Steps" I'm referring to the Enja label release that was a tribute album to Miles Davis, in which he gives a piano trio version of each tune on the original classic Miles Davis album Giant Steps, on which Flanagan appeared.)"