Gospel-infused jazz singer-songwriter Michele Thomas rounds up an A-list cast of Chicago musicians for her third album The Assumption (which casts a light on topics of race, sexism and authority yet, ultimately, celebrates the beauty of life.

The album marks a major step forward in Michele's r artistic growth, with half the songs originals and barely a Songbook standard in sight; the fact that a Coltrane masterpiece (Spiral) sits alongside a song by English supergroup Blind Faith gives perhaps the best idea of the range of the material. It’s a bold synthesis of styles incorporating her gospel roots, her love of folk and neo-soul, and even a passion for rock. Though it siphons from a broad array of stylistic sources, it just feels like the spirit of jazz—an improvisatory music always shapeshifting; never stagnant.

https://www.facebook.com/michelethomasmusic