(April 14, 2022) Chicago based singer Michele Thomas uses every arrow in her musical quiver on The Assumption, her newly released album. You hear everything from gospel influenced soulful jazz to neo-soul and jazz standards. In short, Thomas gives listeners who might not be familiar with her a glimpse into why she is one of the Windy City’s must-see vocalists.
The Assumption finds Thomas backed by some of the city’s best jazz musicians, and those players are fluent in all the musical languages in which Thomas is conversant. We hear the group speaking in blues, soul, jazz and gospel on “No More,” a song that sounds like a musical declaration of independence and is featured in this First Listen.
The song finds Thomas using her power packed vocal to declare that her days of being taken for granted, mistreated and devalued are over. On “No More” Thomas reminds listeners of the importance of their mental, emotional and spiritual care, and that others will damage all of those things if they are allowed to do so.
She tells us “Hearkening back to the old school, analog vibe of the 70’s, I posit this composition by Hubert Laws and Jon Hendricks as my opening statement of self-validation. I felt the message of this song in my bones and I sing it for anyone looking to break free from the emotional bullying in their personal lives or in the world around them.”
The tune’s message is always timely, but no more so than right now when everything from social media to the educational system can and is being weaponized, and no group feels that attack more keenly than Black women. Check out Michele Thomas’ “No More” here.
By Howard Dukes
Michele Thomas – “No More”
