Confidence Creator

Leon Thomas became a star on the back of his original cut of The Creator Had A Master Plan recorded with Pharaoh Sanders. This success was consolidated with four studio albums and several live sessions recorded for Flying Dutchman. A year as a member of Santana brought him to the attention of an even wider audience. His yodeling style allied with deep blues roots has influenced several generations of jazz singers, most recently the Grammy Award-winning jazz star of 2012, Gregory Porter. Leon Thomas' music mixed spiritualism with African influences and became important to the acid jazz scene, where he was sampled by Galliano, while his records became sought after collector's items. In recent years the soul crowd has pushed up the value of his 45s Love Each Other and Just In Time To See The Sun. The Creator… pieces together the very best tracks from his five years at Flying Dutchman, including his collaborations with the Pharaoh Sanders band on his debut album, The Creator Has A Master Plan and Let The Rain Fall On Me; later more soul-influenced numbers, and the apocalyptic spiritual jazz masterpiece Shape Your Mind To Die. We have also found a previously unreleased full length version of his live favorite Um Um Um.

Listeners to his Requiem will recognise Duruflé's conservative and intensely personal musical language as heard in his organ music. The influence of Debussy, Dukas, Ravel, Tournemire and Vierne is evident, and like these composers Duruflé provides detailed performance indications.