Revelations Of The Sun is a curated selection of Thollem's 90-minute solo piano performance on May 13th, 2023, at Sala Perriera in the Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, in Palermo, Sicilia.
Thollem’s solo piano music is born out of his lifelong relationship with the instrument, continuously exploring the seemingly endless possibilities that are unique to it. The music is genre-bending, code-switching, omni-idiomatic, internationalist, intersectional and intentional. It represents the culmination of Thollem’s life’s experiences as a musician and a human being in dialogue with the universe.
“Thollem is a modern griot who has absorbed sounds from every place he has visited.”
– William Parker, from Conversations II (Rogue Art)
Thanks to Lelio Giannetto and Curva Minore.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Simone Sfameli
Cover art by ACVilla - Video by Germana Sfameli
www.thollem.com/solopiano
"Listening to Thollem McDonas play the piano is an astonishing experience. He has an innate ability to compose transcendent music using the piano as his expressive voice and to explore the depth and range of the instrument like no one else. He takes us on journeys across varied landscapes that flow effortlessly from one to the next — somehow emerging logically even in their unpredictability. Thollem creates a spectacular tapestry of different colored sounds reflecting his awareness, study and assimilation of countless influences."
– Joan Jeanrenaud, Composer, Cellist (Kronos Quartet 1978-98)
"Thollem's solo piano performance is "a wonderful example of what happens when immense technique, boundless inspiration and highly focused artistic vision converge."
– Dave Wayne, All About Jazz
"He’s absolutely mesmerizing, He starts with an idea and you watch him develop it in a way that unfolds like a beautiful flower, organically."
– Terry Riley, SF Chronicle
"Thollem's a magnificent player and a free-music veteran and member of several world-class groups, but his talent is most awing when it’s just him and a piano."
– Detroit Metro Times
released September 29, 2023