- Leon Thomas
Amos Leon Thomas Jr (born 1937, died
May 8 1999 ) was an Americanavant garde jazz singer fromEast St. Louis, Illinois . He changed his name to Leon in 1974 [reference?] .Thomas is best known for his work with
Pharoah Sanders , particularly the 1969 song "The Creator Has a Master Plan" from Sanders' "Karma" album. Thomas's most distinctive device was that he often broke out intoyodeling in the middle of a vocal. This style has influenced singersJames Moody andTim Buckley , among others.Thomas studied music at
Tennessee State University . He also worked withGrant Green ,Jimmy Forrest , andHank Crawford ,Count Basie ,Mary Lou Williams ,Randy Weston ,Rahsaan Roland Kirk ,Louis Armstrong ,Carlos Santana [http://www.jazzsupreme.com/leon.thomas/santana.html] ,Freddie Hubbard andOliver Nelson .Thomas died of heart failure on
May 8 1999 .External links
* [http://www.jazzsupreme.com/leon.thomas/index.html Leon Thomas on JazzSupreme]
* [http://music.yahoo.com/ar-266774-bio--Leon-Thomas Yahoo Bio.]
* [http://music.aol.com/artist/leon-thomas/biography/1006486 another bio]
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