Thomas Marriott - Romance Language (2018)

Thomas Marriott has, in a series of 10 beautifully executed and well received albums on Origin, more than proved his jazz credentials with formidable technique & fluency, celebration of the tradition and a deep joy of extemporaneous risk-taking. On this recording, however, Thomas strips things down to their essence, taking all he has accrued and employing it to delve deep into the heart, leaving us with only his beautiful sound and the truth of the stories being told. Wanting to create something beyond a jazz ballads album, Thomas and his producer, vibist Joe Locke, imagined something more operatic in nature, with each song resembling a free-standing aria. They teamed with pianist/composer Ryan Cohan to arrange and orchestrate this collection of ten classic & modern jazz compositions, popular tunes and several original works by Locke and Cohan, creating a sumptuous, glowing palette over which the melodies and solos can soar.