John Lennon Songwriters Award for "Moroccan Blues." Received the WYCE Jammie Award for "Best Local WorldBeat CD of 2002." Ranked #13 on national playlist by New Age Recorder, February 2003. Evocative mix of world, new age, and jazz.

Details

Contents

#		Title	Length	Sample
1		Moroccan Blues	2:43
2		The Forgotten Conquest	8:47
3		Saharan Caravan	8:06
4		Trail of Tears	7:05
5		The Magician	6:08
6		A Moment in Time	5:20
7		Coronado's Dream	7:04
8		A Night in Addis	3:42
9		View from a Hammock	5:31
10		Convergence (Saharan Reprise)	4:30

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Description

"A fabulous album" -- Dan Bayer, Music for a New Age.

"Thom Jayne qualifies as a local artist for us but, honestly, I'd play 'The Forgotten Conquest' if it came from Bosnia. Simply, a disc with bite in an often sleepy genre" -- Matt Jerrells, Music Director, WYCE, Grand Rapids

"Very fresh, and fabulous instrumentation" -- Kathleen Monahan, KDM Promotion

**********

Thom Jayne has recently emerged on the alternative music scene with a hard-to-categorize blend of world music, flamenco, Latin classical, and jazz sounds. His first release, The Forgotten Conquest, has received award-winning recognition in the John Lennon Songwriters Contest, won the 2002 Jammie Award/World Beat category, and was recently featured on Dan Bayer's "Music for a New Age." Jayne, who plays guitar and digeridoo -- sometimes at the same time -- is part of the 'Unusual Suspects' (formerly the 'Free Radicals' until a band in Houston that trademarked the name threatened to sue) featuring:

Rich Illman - trumpet and percussion
Jon Weber - percussion and quiqa
David Meeder - guitar and flute
Ryan Bliton - bass
Patrick Fitzgibbon - drums

Their live acts are noted for their upbeat, foot-stomping originals, and their primal renditions of popular tunes like "2001 Space Odyssey" and Miles Davis' "So what". The bands' blending of didgeridoos, Native American flutes, trumpet, driving percussion rhythms, and Spanish guitar has created one of "the most unique and uncategorizable sounds in the business today" (Tom Shahnazarian, Denver music critic).

After performing and recording with the band 'Pariah' on the east coast in the late 1970s, Jayne sold everything, joined the Peace Corps, and moved to the jungles of Ghana in West Africa at 24. Several of the compositions on "The Forgotten Conquest" were conceived during his two-year stay in a small village there. Now a professor at Michigan State University, Jayne travels four times a year to places such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zambia, and is currently collaborating with the Zambian pop star, Ballard Zulu, in a compilation of African beat-flamenco inspired compositions.

More information? email: jayne@msu.edu

Article in the Lansing City Pulse (January 21, 2004):

Thom Jayne and The Free Radicals Bring 'Eclectic'
Sounds To The Creole Gallery-
By Chris Wardell

Thom Jayne never knew he wanted to be a musician. In fact, his parents made him become one. Where most kids are out in the streets running around or playing in a playground, Thom was forced to stay inside and practice his skills learning the classical and flamenco guitar. Does he resent his parents for missing out on all those days of grandiose, innocent days of youth? With a John Lennon songwriting contest award in the World beat category for his song "Moroccan Blues," A new album entitled "The Forgotten Conquest," under his belt; my money is on 'doubtful.'
"I didn't really like the idea of practicing while all my friends were out in the street playing football." Said Jayne. "I started liking the idea of being a musician after playing in a progressive rock band, Pariah, in college."
Pariah, a progressive-rock band that showed signs of promise is actually where Thom's story begins. After a short recording stint at CBS studios, Jayne was almost assured Pariah was destined for greatness. The band made a demo, shopped it around, and after a couple nibbles from Arista and CBS, nothing ever came to be. After toiling around in clubs and living an exhausting lifestyle, Jayne quit Pariah, and joined the Peace Corps, traveled, and spent two years in a village in Ghana where a lot of the music the Anti-Oxidants play is based from.
"It looked like Pariah was actually going to go somewhere, but after playing gigs on the Jersey shore for a few months, the lifestyle sort of wore us down." Said Jayne "The night clubs got old fast, the hours were crazy, our bass player became an accountant, and it just seemed like the right thing to do to make a major change. I went into Peace Corps."
After some good advice from a respected friend, Jayne came to Michigan State to begin a graduate program, and was hired upon graduation. Jayne is also a Professor, International Development at MSU in the Department of Agricultural Economics.
Enter The Free Radicals: A collective comprised of Rich Illman (trumpet and percussion), David Meeder (guitar and flute), Jon Weber (percussion), Ryan Bliton (bass), and Pat Fitzgibbon (drums). Along with guitar, Jayne specializes in the digeridoo, which Jayne describes as a "tree branch hollowed out by termites and then fire treated. Each one has its own shape and curves, which imparts a uniqueness to each. You blow into it while buzzing your lips, and if you can circular breathe, you can keep going for a long time. It makes your whole body vibrate on the inside."
The Free Radicals' sound weaves in and out of World beat, Classical, Latin, and Jazz, Jayne prefers to just call it "eclectic."
"David Meeder came with a friend to a party at my house one night, and we ended up playing music together that night. I met Rich Illman in connection with my CD." Said Jayne. "I was told he was the guy I wanted. I had never envisioned a trumpet on more than 1-2 tracks on my CD, but the way he played it, he's now featured in almost every composition."
Jayne and The Free Radicals will play a show Friday night at the Creole Gallery.
Their first release, "The Forgotten Conquest," has received award-winning recognition in the John Lennon Songwriters Contest, won the Jammie Award/World Beat category, and was recently featured on Dan Bayer's "Music for a New Age," who Jayne cites as a respected colleague.
"Dan's great. After hearing the CD, he took me aside and gave me a lot of advice about whom to contact to get it heard nationally." Said Jayne. "Based on his advice, early last year the CD went to #13 nationally on the New Age Register, which ranks music based on national radio exposure for alternative/new age stations."
Along with the CD, Jayne has plans to record the Creole Show for a future live album, and Jayne also collaborates with African pop artist Ballard Zulu, who along with Jayne, works in International Development. Mainly, Jayne would just like to build upon his experiences from traveling, and continuing to find new ways to create music.
"Music is a sort of universal language." Said Jayne. "Even without words, people can get strong impressions and emotions from music, and some of the most enjoyable music I've made is the organic kind, unrehearsed, based on people listening to each other and hearing themselves as a part of whole."