Joe Thomas -

Joseph Samuel Thomas (May 31, 1933 — July 26, 2017) was an American jazz-funk flutist and saxophonist from Newark, New Jersey. Thomas first recorded with organist Rhoda Scott in the early 1960s and subsequently led albums that ranged from soul-jazz to the funk-oriented recordings of the 1970s.

Background

Joseph Samuel Thomas was born on May 31, 1933, in Newark, New Jersey, to Frank Thomas and Sarah Pryor Thomas. Thomas learned flute, trombone, and piano by ear and took up alto and soprano saxophone on initial tips from his older brother Frank.

At age fifteen, Thomas began professional appearances in small Newark clubs, where he met saxophonist James Moody of the Dizzy Gillespie big band. Thomas subsequently served three years in the U.S. Army and received the Purple Heart after suffering wounds in Korean War combat.

After service, Thomas returned to Newark and played in the band of organist Specs Williams. By the early 1960s, Thomas and drummer Bill Elliott joined the trio of organist Rhoda Scott. The trio held a two-year Key Club engagement in Newark. Tru-Sound producer Ozzie Cadena approached the group after its Newark appearances and arranged recording sessions at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Thomas played tenor saxophone and sang on the sessions for Rhoda’s 1962 Prestige release Hey! Hey! Hey! Thomas added flute when the trio recorded a March 23, 1963 performance at the Key Club for Live! at the Key Club. Thomas and Elliott established a separate co-billed act by 1964, when Symbol issued “Speak Your Piece” (b/w “I Hear Music”) in April.

Discography: