In February 1960, Lucky Thompson led an octet at the Paris Blue Note. Featured on stage were Thompson (ts,ss) backed by Leonard C. Johnson (tp), Jimmy Cleveland (tb), Marcel Rasko, Joe Rasko and Sahib Shihab (saxophones), Buddy Catlett (b) and Kenny Clarke (d), with Thelma Thompson on vocals. Thelma was Lucky's wife and would die three years later from a stroke. I'll show you their performance in a moment.
Lucky Thompson had moved to Paris in 1957 and would remain there until 1962. Then he returned to New York for six years before moving back to Europe in 1968 to live in Lausanne, Switzerland, until 1970. He taught at Dartmouth College in 1973 and then quit the music business. During his last years in the 1990s and early 2000s in Seattle, Thompson reportedly was homeless. He died from Alzheimer's disease in 2005.
Thompson was known for his soulful and sophisticated sound and his smooth, halting attack influenced by Don Byas. Among my favorites are his Paris recordings and his Lucky Thompson Featuring Oscar Pettiford, Vol.1 album for ABC Paramount in 1956.
Here's Part 1 of Thompson and his octet in Paris in 1960...
And here's Part 2...
Bonus: Here's Thompson at the Paris Blue Note a month earlier, with Bud Powell on piano, in January 1960...
Here's the entire Tricotism CD, in parts at YouTube, starting with Bo-Bi My Boy...
And here are a bunch of his Paris sessions, these with Guy Lafitte (ts), Martial Solal (p), Benoit Quersin (b) and Roger Paraboschi (d) in April 1956...
Lucky Thompson had moved to Paris in 1957 and would remain there until 1962. Then he returned to New York for six years before moving back to Europe in 1968 to live in Lausanne, Switzerland, until 1970. He taught at Dartmouth College in 1973 and then quit the music business. During his last years in the 1990s and early 2000s in Seattle, Thompson reportedly was homeless. He died from Alzheimer's disease in 2005.
Thompson was known for his soulful and sophisticated sound and his smooth, halting attack influenced by Don Byas. Among my favorites are his Paris recordings and his Lucky Thompson Featuring Oscar Pettiford, Vol.1 album for ABC Paramount in 1956.
Here's Part 1 of Thompson and his octet in Paris in 1960...
And here's Part 2...
Bonus: Here's Thompson at the Paris Blue Note a month earlier, with Bud Powell on piano, in January 1960...
Here's the entire Tricotism CD, in parts at YouTube, starting with Bo-Bi My Boy...
And here are a bunch of his Paris sessions, these with Guy Lafitte (ts), Martial Solal (p), Benoit Quersin (b) and Roger Paraboschi (d) in April 1956...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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