Articles by Scott H. Thompson
Jimmy Cobb: We're Remembering U
by Scott H. Thompson
Drummer Jimmy Cobb was a 91-year old NEA Jazz Master who was (until recently) still playing hard and keeping the groove with his trio consisting of Tadataka Unno on piano and Paolo Benedettini on drums. Remembering U (his 12th album as a leader and first release on his own Jimmy Cobb World label) was released in August 2019 and features the late, great Roy Hargrove on trumpet/flugelhorn and Javon Jackson on tenor saxophone. Cobb was also the last ...
Continue ReadingChick Remembers Miles
by Scott H. Thompson
In celebration of Miles Davis' birthday, Chick Corea sent this note to me on the day Miles passed away (September 28, 1991). I'd like to share it with you all... Even though I played in his band for only two years, Miles has been a stable presence in my life since I began listening to him on recordings in the early '50s. Along with my father, Armando, there were two buddies I had--Joel Karp and Lenny ...
Continue ReadingPrince at Mohegan Sun Arena
by Scott H. Thompson
Prince Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT December 29, 2013 I don't know where he finds 'em... but Prince has put together an incredible 20-piece band fronted by the female power trio of 3rd Eye Girl. He tore the roof off of Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Arena during a 3-night run December 27-29, 2013. At the end of the jam, there were about 12 horn players onstage with a rhythm section, backup singers and ...
Continue ReadingSonny Rollins: Tanglewood 2005
by Scott H. Thompson
It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning in New England, while down South, New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, lay in ruin. Devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I made my way to a 9:15am church service, and then headed out onto the highway for another church service. The church of Sonny Rollins. Driving straight north through the center of Connecticut, take a left at the Massachusetts Turnpike, then a scenic drive west to the Berkshires and the Tanglewood Jazz ...
Continue ReadingThe 2004 St. Lucia Jazz Festival
by Scott H. Thompson
From JFK to a brief stopover in Barbados, then our Air Jamaica jet smoothly lands on the exotic, beautiful West Indies island of St. Lucia. Paradise. Lush green volcanic mountains lunge out from the clear blue Caribbean Sea on one side and the rougher Atlantic Ocean on the other coast. I am a happy man.The taxi ride up the eastern coast is breathtaking. Past the dark brown cocoa pods hanging from the trees, green mangos, papayas and bananas. ...
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