Steve
Thornton
is a member of Raihan, the Islamic pop
group that has stormed Malaysia with a
stunning success the band calls "nothing
less than a miracle of God." The all-male
Raihan sing traditional Islamic religious
hymns ("nasyids") updated with percussion.
Before moving to Malaysia, Steve was an
integral part of the New York City musical
community. In the course of his formidable
career he has appeared on acclaimed jazz
albums by Mongo Santamaria, Miles Davis,
Sadao Watanabe, and McCoy Tyner, and pop
albums by Tracy Chapman, Mariah Carey,
and Michael Jackson. His playing is particularly
well represented on albums by jazz vocalist
Tania Maria and by romantic crooner Jon
Lucien.
Most
recently, Steve Thornton released an album
under his own name, Nature's Plan, and
appeared on a CD with Keiko Lee, a popular
Japanese jazz vocalist. Growing up in
New York, Steve was mesmerized by sounds
of Mongo Santamaria, Tito
Puente, and Willie Bobo. He started
playing bongos at the tender age of seven
and remembers that his first LP
instrument was a fiberglass conga.
