The Rare Albums Collection 1956-1965

Description

American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist Eli "Lucky" Thompson, whose playing combined elements of swing and bebop, was born on June 16, 1924, in Columbia, South Carolina, and moved to Detroit, Michigan, during his childhood. He had to raise his siblings after the death of his mother and practiced his saxophone fingering on a broom handle before acquiring his first instrument. He joined Erskine Hawkins' orchestra in 1942 after graduating from Cass Technical High School. After playing with the swing orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Don Redman, Billy Eckstine (alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker), Lucky Millinder, and Count Basie, he worked in rhythm and blues before building a career in bebop and hard bop, collaborating with Kenny Clarke, Miles Davis, Gillespie, and Milt Jackson. Critic Ben Ratliff noted that Thompson "bridged the swing era and the more cerebral and complex bebop style. His sophisticated and harmonically abstract approach to the tenor saxophone extended from those of Don Byas and Coleman Hawkins; he played with bebop musicians while resisting the pervasive influence of Charlie Parker." He demonstrated these qualities as a sideman on numerous albums recorded in the mid-1950s, such as Stan Kenton's *Cuban Fire!* (1956), as well as on recordings under his own name. He also recorded with Parker during two sessions for Dial Records in Los Angeles and participated in the recording session for Miles Davis' hard bop album *Walkin'* (1957). Thompson recorded albums as a leader for Disques Vogue (in Paris), ABC Paramount, and Prestige, and appeared as a sideman on records released by Savoy Records under Milt Jackson's direction. Thompson had a very critical view of the music industry, later calling promoters, producers, and record labels "parasites" or "vultures." This partly led him to settle in Paris, where he lived and made several recordings between 1957 and 1962. During this time, he began playing the soprano saxophone. Although the credit for the rehabilitation of the soprano saxophone in the early 1960s is generally attributed to John Coltrane, Thompson—like Steve Lacy—had adopted the instrument before him. Thompson returned to New York, then lived in Lausanne (Switzerland) from 1968 to 1970, recording several albums there, including *A Lucky Songbook in Europe* (1969). He taught at Dartmouth College in 1973 and 1974 before fully retiring from the music world. His last album, *I Offer You* (1973), was released that same year under the Groove Merchant label. Lucky Thompson passed away on July 30, 2005, in a specialized facility after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for many years. This new 4-CD box set brings together eight of Lucky Thompson's best original albums released between 1956 and 1965, presented here in exceptional remastered sound quality. Celebrating the music of this great artist during what was undoubtedly his golden age, this collection serves as both a superb entry point for those discovering his work and a welcome reminder of his remarkable talent and inventiveness for others.