One of the truly sad stories of jazz is the career arc of “Lucky” Thompson, who, as the excellent liner notes from the 4 cd set state, couldn’t have been a more ironic moniker. He had a smooth tone akin to Lester Young, a harmonic sophistication similar to Coleman Hawkins and a style that fit in with either bebop, swing or hard bop. He is on a handful of seminal sessions with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, but he’s best known for his classic solo on Miles Davis’ “Walkin’.” He put out an impressive catalogue on his own, but for various reasons, he slipped through the cracks, ending up dying on the streets of Seattle a number of years ago. Sad but true.
Once you listen to the 4 cd small group session as well as the single disc big band album from his stint in the late 50s, you’ll get obsessed over this guy. Every standard that he interprets sounds fresh and vibrant, and his own material is sleek and clever. His warm breathy tone throughout is palpable and inviting, making modern tenor players sound either pale or cacophonic in comparison.
The 4 disc set has him mixed and matched with French and occasional American sidemen, including Emmett Berry/tp, Henri Renaud/p, Pierre Michelot/b, Jean-Pierre Sasson/g, Kenny Clarke/dr and for most of the part, Martial Solal on piano. On a handful of tunes, he plays a lithe soprano sax as on the gorgeous “Have You Met Miss Jones?” a cozy “How About You?” and glowing “Midnight Sun” but for the most part it’s his foggy tenor that carries the weight here.
Standout tracks include a quartet session that features an irresistible “The Man I Love” and “Gone With The Wind” as well as a quintet with vibes that has Thompson floating on “Tenderly” and “East Of The Sun.” A larger ensemble with baritone sax and trombone includes a bopping read of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Ow” as well as a bouncy “Fine and Dandy” while a session with Thompson and Clarke sizzle on bebopping beauties “Now’s the Time” and “The Squirrel’ while Thompson’s take on Miles Davis’ “Four” is even more lyrical than the composer’s. Go figure THAT one out!
The “Orchestra” album has a handful of sessions with bands of “all stars” ranging from 8-12, including Roger Guerin/tp, Henri Renaud/p, Marital Solal/p, Jo Hrasko/as-cl and Gerard “Dave” Pochonet/dr, who co-leads most of the sessions with Lucky Thompson. The charts by Christian Chevallier, Bob Shronk, Henri Renaud and Jack Sels are uniformly swinging and clever, hinting at West Coast Cool charts a la Shorty Rogers and Gerry Mulligan. The reeds and piano give off a Basie feel Oon “Easy Going” and “ One for the Boys and Us” while going Ellington velvety during “Soulscription.” Solal is lyrical on Thompson’s “A Sunkissed Rose” while the rhythm team goes Latin on “A Distant Sound.”
As for Thompson himself, he’s swingin on a star during “Theme for a Brown Rose” and brings down the house on ballads like “You You Dear One” while skipping like a rock on a lake during “The Parisian Knight” and Renaud’s punchy “G. and B.”
Both sets have complete session listings and come with insightful notes to give you the background on this poor soul who owned the tenor sax. After even just one listen, you’re gonna think to yourself “How have I missed out on this guy?” Well, just like salvation and the right lady for you, just be glad it finally arrives!