Lucky Thompson

Lucky Thompson ( born June 16, 1924 in Columbia (South Carolina), Michigan as Eli Thompson, † July 30, 2005 in Seattle, Washington) was an American jazz saxophonist.

Life and work

Thompson bought with fifteen years of a saxophone; He played in local groups with Hank Jones and Sonny Stitt and went with the Bama State Collegians on tour before playing a tenor saxophonist with Lionel Hampton, Sid Catlett, Don Redman (1943) and Billy Eckstine (1944). In addition, he has performed with Slam Stewart and Lucky Millinder. With Count Basie he was 1944-1945 in the saxophone section and then accompanied Dinah Washington; 1946/47, he lived for a year in California, where he played with Boyd Raeburn, and Tom Talbert with Dizzy Gillespie. In 1947 he led a all-star band for recordings with RCA Victor. In 1948, he moved to New York City, where he performed with Oscar Pettiford.

Jazz was historically important then his own band and working with Oscar Pettiford in the 1950s. In this time and until 1970, he had to play in the U.S. and in Europe in enough studios, festivals and small clubs. Between 1957 and 1963 he lived in Europe (Paris and Baden- Baden). In Germany he performed with singer Monica Zetterlund and in small groups with Oscar Pettiford. In France, especially his game on the soprano saxophone was popular. Poetry, lightness and elegant phrasing drew from his expressive playing. He was a gifted melodist and was celebrated in France as a modern Sidney Bechet. He played as a sideman with Stan Kenton, Milt Jackson, Jo Jones, Quincy Jones and Miles Davis.

From 1968, he lived for three years in Lausanne. 1973 and 1974 he taught at Dartmouth College and in 1973 he made his last recording. In his last years he lived in the Northwest of the U.S. and was suffering from Alzheimer's. Recordings that had the label Candid made ​​the early 1960s and had been considered lost, were the occasion to search for Thompson. On the titles of his own compositions he could not remember and so they released the excellent recordings and Others with Martial Solal, with fictitious titles,. Musicians who saw him in his later years, reported that he impoverished and disoriented wandering through the streets of Seattle and no longer physically able to play was because he had lost his teeth. In 1994, he found a place in a supervised residence, where he remained until his death.

Disco Graphical Notes

  • Feat. Oscar Pettiford (ABC)
  • Accent to Tenor Sax ( Fresh Sound Records, 1954) with Ernie Royal, Oscar Pettiford, Billy Taylor, Osie Johnson
  • The Vogue Recordings Vol 1, (Vogue, circa 1955 )
  • A Lucky Songbook (MPS )
  • Lord, Lord am I ever going to know? ( Candid, 1961) with Martial Solal, Peter Trunk, Kenny Clarke
  • Tricotism ( Impulse! )
  • Lucky Strikes ( Prestige, 1964) with Hank Jones, Richard Davis, Connie Kay
Baden-Baden Candid Records Impulse! Records Leonard Feather Integrated Authority File
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