Lucky Thompson

Eli (Lucky) Thompson (June 16, 1924 in Columbia, South Carolina – July 30, 2005 in Seattle, Washington) was an African American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist.

Related Topics:
June 16 - 1924 - Columbia, South Carolina - July 30 - 2005 - Seattle, Washington - African American - Jazz - Saxophonist

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He is considered to have, alongside Steve Lacy brought the soprano saxophone out of obsolescence, playing it in a more advanced boppish format, which inspired John Coltrane to take up the straight saxophone in the early 1960s.

Related Topics:
Steve Lacy - John Coltrane - 1960s

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After playing with the swing orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Don Redman, Billy Eckstine, Lucky Millinder, and Count Basie, he worked in rhythm and blues and then established a career in bop and hard bop, working with Kenny Clarke, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Jackson. Thompson was an inspired soloist on Stan Kenton's record "Cuban Fire", and he himself recorded many albums during the mid-1950s. He appeared on Miles Davis's historic hard bop Walkin session. He lived in Lausanne, Switzerland in the late 1960s and recorded several albums there including "A Lucky Songbook in Europe". He taught at Dartmouth College in 1973 and 1974, then left the music business completely, as a consequence of the racial discrimination and treatment he received from record companies and clubs.

Related Topics:
Swing - Lionel Hampton - Don Redman - Billy Eckstine - Lucky Millinder - Count Basie - Rhythm and blues - Bop - Hard bop - Kenny Clarke - Miles Davis - Dizzy Gillespie - Milt Jackson - 1950s - Lausanne, Switzerland - Dartmouth College

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Lucky Thompson was much missed by followers of the jazz scene. In his last years he lived in the Pacific Northwest and suffered from Alzheimer's Disease.

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