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The Lucky Thompson Discography

 

"...I feel I have only scratched the surface of what I know I am capable of doing."
These words were uttered by saxophonist Eli "Lucky" Thompson on March 20, 19681 and seem incredible in view of both the quality and quantity of the music he had produced to that point. One wonders what goals and directions he had in mind but sadly, by this time his career as a performing musician was largely over and we can only speculate as to what might have been.

Thompson has been described as enigmatic, elusive and underrated but there is no disputing his brilliance, originality and importance in the evolution of modern jazz. During his three decades on the international jazz scene, he worked and recorded with just about every giant: Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk to name just a few. He transcended stylistic and geographical barriers playing in a wide variety of settings on the East and West Coasts of the U.S. and for extended periods in Europe.

Ironically, Thompson appears on some of the seminal recordings of bebop and its successor, hard bop yet was not really a "modernist" in the sense that word was used in the 1940s and 1950s. Eschewing the direct influences of Charlie Parker and Lester Young who had provided the stylistic framework for most of the post-swing era saxophonists, Thompson instead drew on Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Don Byas for his inspiration, updating those sources harmonically and rhythmically to create a unique sound and conception. His solos on tenor saxophone are compositionally assembled and emotionally evocative. When he enters, one is seduced by the sheer elegance and power of his statements into listening attentively. In the late 1950s, he added the soprano saxophone which instrument he personalized in a manner quite different from that employed contemporaneously by the much higher profile John Coltrane.

While many sources state that Thompson was born in Detroit, MI, he revealed in a 1981 interview with Christopher Kuhl2 that his birthplace was, in fact, Columbia, SC but that his mother migrated north shortly after his birth on June 16, 1924. It was in Detroit that he was raised and received his first musical training and exposure to jazz. His first recordings date from 1943 and his last took place in 1973 (possibly 1974 - see the discography). The 30 yearlong legacy Thompson has left us is a rich one, including some of the most influential and revered recordings of the music's first century.

Like a few other musicians, most notably his contemporary Gigi Gryce, Thompson was concerned, almost to the point of obsession, with the exploitation of jazz artists and their works by entrenched and unscrupulous individuals and practices in the recording and publishing industries. He railed continually against the injustices he witnessed and after a stab at teaching in the early 1970s (Dartmouth College), his bitterness and frustration caused him to withdraw essentially completely from the limelight. He lived for a while in Savannah, GA where the Kuhl interview took place. In the early 1990s, he was discovered in the Seattle, WA area in a homeless condition but fortunately, some kind and artistically aware local residents realized who he was and assisted him in obtaining medical attention and shelter. Thompson spent many years in a Seattle nursing home and for the most part, had refused or been unable for medical reasons to be drawn into meaningful discussions of his past experiences and achievements. Visitors, including famous former collaborators, reportedly found him bitter and paranoid. However, an interview, by Daniel Brecker in 1995, was broadcast on KCMU-FM (Seattle), and is available on saxophonist Mel Martin's website.

Lucky Thompson passed away on July 30, 2005.

1Spoken introduction by Lucky Thompson issued on Candid CCD 79035 (Lord, Lord Am I Ever Gonna Know?)
2Lucky Thompson Interview by Christopher Kuhl, Cadence, Jan., 1982, p.10; Kuhl, Christopher, A Visit with "Lucky" Thompson, New Arts Review, Dec., 1981, p. 13

Thompson's early recordings have been well-documented through the efforts of Tony Williams (England) and Dieter Salemann (Germany):

Eli "Lucky" Thompson 1943-1950: Roots of Modern Jazz - The Be Bop Era, Vol. 13 by Dieter Salemann, ©2001; This is available for purchase from The Jazz Record Center.

Lucky Thompson Discography, Part One, 1944-51 by Tony Williams, ©1967; A copy of this discography can be found at The Institute of Jazz Studies (but you have to visit the Institute to access it - it cannot be viewed online).

Because of these thorough publications, I have chosen to address only Thompson's recordings from 1951 on which, in my opinion, are his most important. The discography is in two parts:

Lucky Thompson was visited by several musicians from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in Seattle, in January 2005. See the article by trumpeter Marcus Printup in the May 2006 issue of DownBeat Magazine (p. 22) entitled A Lucky Awakening.

See also Tad Shull's essay When Backward Comes Out Ahead: Lucky Thompson's Phrasing and Improvisation published in Annual Review of Jazz Studies 12: 2002, Ed Berger, Ed., Scarecrow Press, 2004.

Saxophonist Michael Blake has recorded a CD of mostly Lucky Thompson compositions. The album is entitled The World Awakes: A Tribute to Eli "Lucky" Thompson, Stunt Records STUCD 07092 (2007).

Rare photograph of Lucky Thompson with drummer Franco Manzecchi

Please email me with any additions, corrections or comments.

Many thanks to Michael Fitzgerald and Steve Albin ( JazzDiscography.com), Axel Van Looy, Pete Bainbridge, Maurice Rolfe, Jud Warren, Ashwin Panemangalore, Sid Gribetz (WKCR), Bob Van Langen, Dan Skea, Richard Weize (Bear Family Records), Steve Schwartz (WGBH), Wolfram Knauer (Jazzinstitut Darmstadt), Bill Damm, Peter Pullman, Jim Wilke (Jazz After Hours), Paul DeBarros ( Seattle Times), Lola Pedrini (Earshot Jazz), Tony at Group Harmony, George Schuller, Loren Schoenberg, Michael Cuscuna (Mosaic Records), Chuck Nessa, Fernando Ortiz de Urbina, Chris Sheridan, Uwe Weiler, Francois Ziegler, Bernd Zimmermann, Michael Weil, Guy Kopelowicz, Ed Chaplin, Ronald Lyles, Bob Weir, Dennis Whitling, Arild Wideröe, Hans Jensen, Anders Bergön, Frank Buchmann-Møller, Michel Ruppli, Larry Kart, Sergio Portaleoni, Peter Smithson, Claude Schlouch, Patrick Judycki, Victoria Padin (Radio Sweden), Chris Byars, Jackie Cain, Bill Crow and the folks at The Institute of Jazz Studies, especially Ed Berger, Joe Peterson and John Clement for providing information and assistance.