Micah Thomas

Composer

Mar 27

Micah Thomas was born in 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. He started playing songs on the piano by ear at the age of 2, and shortly afterwards he started private piano training. From his sophomore year of high school onwards, Micah began gigging regularly with violinist Christian Howes, and was a regular faculty member at his annual Creative Strings Workshop from 2015-2018. He also has appeared several times with Byron Stripling and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra as a guest artist, performing with John Clayton and Joshua Redman for their 45th anniversary concert series in 2017. He has also performed throughout Ohio with other musicians including JD Allen, Billy Contreras, Eddie Bayard, George Delancey, Cedric Easton, and Bobby Floyd.

In 2015, Micah Thomas received the Jerome L. Greene Fellowship from the Juilliard School, and received his Master of Music (M.M.) degree in 2020. He is now touring and performing locally and internationally, both as a leader of his own trio, a steady member of the Immanuel Wilkins Quartet and the Giveton Gelin Quintet, and as a sideman for Ambrose Akinmusire, Lage Lund, Billy Drummond, Zoh Amba, Stacy Dillard, Joel Ross, Nicole Glover, Joshua Redman, Melissa Aldana, Etienne Charles, Harish Raghavan, Gabe Schnider and others.

In June 2020, Micah Thomas released his first album, “Tide”, which received positive reviews from the New York Journal, The New York Times, JazzTimes, and Financial Times, among others. He also has appeared on several albums as a sideman for Immanuel Wilkins, Billy Drummond, Zoh Amba, Giveton Gelin, and Walter Smith III.

“Micah is a special one. His playing has a restlessly inventive and futuristic tilt while simultaneously remaining deeply rooted in the history of the music – all delivered with curiosity, patience, humor and care. I make a point to hear him as often as I can, as he always inspires and is constantly evolving. To me, Micah is one of the most exciting musicians of his generation.” - Aaron Parks

"I randomly saw a live feed of Micah playing solo, and for the second time ever – Sullivan Fortner being the first – I heard a pianist a generation or so younger than me who instantly became one of my favorite musicians. I think he was playing ‘Gone with the Wind,’ or a similar standard, in a fully formed, original voice, so clear and refreshing. We ended up getting together for a duo rehearsal, and I felt that I had finally found something – something I hadn’t even realized that I had been waiting for." - Lage Lund

"I am already tagging him as one who has a unique style as well as all the tools needed to make a major contribution to the world of jazz piano." - Fred Hersch

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