Now that’s not to say that Milovac veers anywhere near smooth jazz. If he did, this piece wouldn’t even be happening. Still, his range is noteworthy. That he attempts it at all is remarkable. That he pulls it off is a feat.
Milovac’s music label, Cosmo Sonic Collective, specializes in improvised music and releases some decidedly out-there stuff. Milovac himself has his own freak bona fides, frequently mixing it up with some of the city’s leading young renegades like all-star free-jazz unit Bongus. But unlike some of his contemporaries and closest associates, Milovac threads a clever needle between experimental and traditional jazz.
His latest release is a stacked Thomas Milovac Quartet outing with credentialed conspirators Shawn Villanueva (trumpet), Zach Muth (electric guitar) and David Weatherspoon (drums), with cameos by Ryan Devlin (tenor saxophone) and Derek Dunn (synthesizer, electronics). Their latest release, Milo’s Motion, is a seven-track mini-album that exemplifies that Milovac tightrope in live motion.
Between the effortless, airy framework of Milovac’s compositions and the heady edge of some band improvisations, Milo’s Motion somehow manages broad appeal without resorting to the lowest common denominator. There’s plenty of classic jazz language for even casual listeners to vibe with. The fresh, lively bop of “Mojave” and the slinky cool of “Milo’s Motion” call for a crisp cocktail. The blue cool-jazz hues of “The First and Last of Everything” and “The Distance,” on the other hand, demand coffee, rain and a cigarette. But for the deep heads with a jones for jazz’s freer and feral spirit, high-wire moments like the skronky “Castles” provide that freestyle electricity.
Milo’s Motion is a deft balance that hits both the soul and the brain. It mingles the timeless mystique of trad jazz with the rush of the avant-garde in ways that don’t choose favorites between accessibility and thrill. That’s Milovac’s magic.
Milo’s Motion now streams everywhere and sits atop TLU’s Spotify playlist. And this weekend, the Thomas Milovac Quartet will perform it all live at the Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts (8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, $25). For a deeper dive into Milovac’s creatively restless world, he’ll also be doing an entirely different show Thursday at The Falcon with The Lustre Trio (8 p.m. Thursday, July 31, free), a new project that surrounds Milovac with an ever-changing roster of collaborators to guarantee new improvisations each time out. This particular performance will feature saxophonist Ryan Devlin and drummer Jamesly Jean-Marie.
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This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2025.