June 6, 2025: Today, pianist Isaiah J. Thompson released his new album The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry via Mack Avenue Records. With its life-affirming meld of swing and blues and its expert command of jazz heritage, The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry draws lines to landmark works of jazz divinity by Mary Lou Williams, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and other titans.

Listen to Isaiah J. Thompson The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry

“Today I’m humbled to be able to celebrate the release of my newest recording The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry,” says Thompson. “This suite is something I’ve composed over the last few years as I’ve overcome obstacles in my life and put my faith in God. The music is meant to console in its function as a ministry, to confront in its efforts to denounce injustice, and lastly, to honor the jazz musicians who boldly elicited their faith through music. I pray that this album blesses and uplifts you.”

Thompson is one of the most acclaimed young pianists of his generation, having earned a slew of high-profile awards, two degrees from The Juilliard School, and work with renowned artists including Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Christian McBride and John Pizzarelli, whose trio, an institution in small-group swing, Thompson joined in 2019. NPR’s Jazz Night In America praised him as “a young musician and composer with a mature touch and rare combination of talent, creativity, humility and honesty.”

Despite all of his accomplishments, something was missing for Thompson. To start, he was placing far too much of his self-worth on being a celebrated musician. An overcommitment to the piano resulted in a surplus of practice that ended up putting his career at risk. “I got tendonitis in both arms, and that’s a condition you continue to have,” he says. Since then, Thompson has been diligent in his rehabilitation, which has opened up new pathways in his musicianship.

Even so, the injury was devastating and led Thompson to a crossroads. “It forced me to think about what is actually important in life,” he says. “If I can’t play, then who am I? What is my existence? What does it actually mean?” As he continued to wrestle with these profound questions, the pianist was reminded of his spiritual deficiency every time he heard his first name. Although he did spend some time in the church with his family as a child, he was primarily living a secular life.

“I was walking around with this name that I hadn’t studied,” Isaiah explains. So he began to discover his namesake and his faith in earnest. He dug deep into the Book of Isaiah, one of the Bible’s most challenging books. Eventually, independent study wasn’t enough, and Thompson pursued his spiritual education in seminary. He and his wife, a ministry director and noted worship singer with several generations of ministry in her family, eventually chose a congregation where the message of Jesus and salvation felt pure and right.

When it came time to unpack his faith musically on The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry, Thompson tapped trusted collaborators including tenor saxophonist Julian Lee, bassist Marty Jaffe, drummer Miguel Russell, and pianist Cyrus Chestnut, who co-produced the project. New Orleans percussion great Herlin Riley contributes tambourine and vocals on select songs, vocal star Vuyo Sotashe sings on three tracks, and Thompson’s wife, Kaitlin Obien-Thompson adds backing vocals to the album-closing “VIII. The Prophet.”

A devoted student of jazz history, Thompson wrote the album under the sway of jazz icons who crafted paeans to the Creator without explicitly chasing a “gospel-jazz” fusion. The spiritual works of Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams and Wynton Marsalis became major touchstones, as well as the transcendent recordings of John Coltrane and the churchly textures of Charles Mingus. Throughout these eight tracks, Thompson probes his devotional life without fear, underscoring simple but too-often overlooked truths about our relationship with God.

Tracklisting:
I. The Cakewalk Dilemma
II. The Highest Calling (Asé, Yahweh)
III. Spring Flower, Sprung Flower
IV. In the Temple (Spiritual Warfare)
V. The Feeling of Freedom
VI. Our Father Who Art in Heaven (The Lord's Prayer)
VII. A Prayer
VIII. The Prophet

Tour Dates
June 6: Scullers Jazz Club w/ John Pizzarelli | Boston, MA
June 13: Café Vivace | Cincinnati, OH
June 14: Jazz Kitchen | Indianapolis, OH
June 15: Blue Llama | Ann Arbor, MI
June 17: Space | Chicago, IL
June 18: Blues Alley | Washington, DC
June 24: Vancouver International Jazz Festival w/ New Jazz Underground | Vancouver, CAN
June 25: Vancouver International Jazz Festival w/ New Jazz Underground | Vancouver, CAN
June 27: Calgary Jazz Festival w/ New Jazz Underground | Calgary, CAN
June 28: Ottawa Jazz Festival w/ New Jazz Underground | Ottawa, CAN
June 29: Festival International de Jazz de Montreal w/ New Jazz Underground | Montreal, CAN
July 11: Blue Note Napa w/ John Pizzarelli | Napa, CA
July 12: Stanford Jazz Workshop w/ John Pizzarelli | Stanford, CA
July 19: Tilles Center for the Performing Arts LIU w/ John Pizzarelli | Greenvale, NY
July 29- August 2: Birdland Jazz Club w/ John Pizzarelli | New York, NY
August 7: Grand Teton Music Festival w/ John Pizzarelli | Teton Village, WY
August 9: San Jose Jazz Summer Festival w/ John Pizzarelli | San Jose, CA
August 10: Vukasin Theatre w/ John Pizzarelli | Walnut Creek, CA
August 11: Kuumbwa Jazz Center w/ John Pizzarelli | Santa Cruz, CA
August 12-13: Yoshi’s w/ John Pizzarelli | Oakland, CA
August 14-17: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley w/ John Pizzarelli | Seattle, WA
August 19-20: Bistango Restaurant w/ John Pizzarelli | Irvine, CA
August 26: Dakota w/ John Pizzarelli | Minneapolis, MN
August 27: Space w/ John Pizzarelli | Evanston, IL
August 29: Labor Day Weekend Jazz Festival w/ John Pizzarelli | Mackinac Island, MI
August 30: Detroit Jazz Festival w/ John Pizzarelli | Detroit, MI
August 31: Fox Jazz Fest | Appleton, WI
September 2: Jazz, TX | San Antonio, TX
September 3: Parker Jazz Club | Austin, TX
September 5: Miller Outdoor Theatre | Houston, TX
September 26: The Jazz Market w/ John Pizzarelli
October 25: Koerner Hall | Toronto, ON - OP 100th Birthday Celebration