Lucky Thompson

Born in Columbia, South Carolina, on June 16, 1924, tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson connected the visceral energy of swing with the intricate thought processes of bebop, quickly establishing himself among the leading figures on his instrument. The lifelong nickname of Eli Thompson originated from a shirt his father supplied that bore the word “lucky” across the front, yet the label proved sadly ironic: after losing his mother at age five, he spent most of his youth in Detroit assisting with the care of his younger siblings. Music appealed to him deeply, but lacking any realistic prospect of owning a horn, he performed odd jobs to buy a saxophone method book that included a fingering chart. Using a broom handle, he etched simulated keys and tone holes, mastering music notation long before he ever touched a real saxophone. Legend holds that a shipping error finally delivered an instrument to his door along with furniture; after finishing high school and working briefly as a barber, he joined Erskine Hawkins’ Bama State Collegians, remaining with the ensemble until 1943, when Lionel Hampton brought him into the fold and he relocated to New York City.

Once settled in the city, Thompson was chosen to fill Ben Webster’s chair at the Three Deuces on 52nd Street. Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Art Tatum all witnessed his first night, which Thompson himself judged a failure; a relentless perfectionist, he seldom felt satisfied with his playing. Even so, he soon earned the regard of fellow musicians and became a regular presence on the club scene. Following a period with bassist Slam Stewart, he rejoined Hampton on tour before entering the short-lived big band of vocalist Billy Eckstine, whose roster featured Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey—the very environment in which bebop crystallized. Although he participated in some of the earliest and most pivotal bop sessions, Thompson never adhered strictly to the style’s conventions; his tone carried a distinctive elegance and structural strength, along with an emotional resonance uncommon among tenor players of that era. He entered the Count Basie Orchestra near the end of 1944, departed the following year in Los Angeles, and stayed on the West Coast until 1946, during which time he performed on and arranged recordings for the Exclusive label.

Gillespie later hired him to replace Parker in the trumpeter’s landmark small group; Thompson also appeared on Parker’s historic Dial session of March 28, 1946, and that same year belonged to the Charles Mingus and Buddy Collette-directed Stars of Swing, an ensemble that unfortunately never recorded. Returning to New York in 1947, he led his own orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom. The next year he made his first appearance in Europe at the Nice Jazz Festival and took part in sessions led by Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis, including the essential Walkin’. On August 14, 1953, backed by a unit called the Lucky Seven that featured trumpeter Harold Johnson and altoist Jimmy Powell, he recorded his initial date as a leader and returned to the studio the following March. Although he spent most of his career as a sideman, he maintained an especially productive partnership with Milt Jackson that produced several albums in the mid-1950s.

Many colleagues and industry figures, however, regarded Thompson as hard to work with. He spoke candidly against what he viewed as excessive control exercised by record companies, publishers, and agents, and in February 1956 he attempted to escape these “vultures” by moving his family to Paris. Two months later he participated in Stan Kenton’s French tour and even returned to the United States with the group, yet he soon found himself barred from work by Louis Armstrong’s manager, Joe Glaser, after a peculiar dispute over which musician should exit their plane first upon landing. Without regular employment, he went back to Paris and recorded several dates for producer Eddie Barclay.

He remained in France until 1962, then came back to New York; a year later he led the Prestige album Plays Jerome Kern and No More, which included pianist Hank Jones. Around that period his wife passed away. Struggling to raise their children alone while still confronting entrenched industry obstacles, he publicly declared his retirement in Down Beat in 1966. Within months he resumed performing, yet continued to feel constrained by both the business and his own perceived limitations; during the March 20, 1968, session later issued by Candid as Lord, Lord Am I Ever Gonna Know?, he remarked, “I feel I have only scratched the surface of what I know I am capable of doing.” From late 1968 to 1970 he lived in Lausanne, Switzerland, concertizing extensively throughout Europe before returning to the United States, where he taught at Dartmouth University and, in 1973, led his final recording, I Offer You.

The remaining years of Thompson’s life are largely undocumented. He resided for a time on Ontario’s Manitoulin Island, then moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he exchanged his saxophones for dental care. Eventually he settled in the Pacific Northwest; after an extended period of homelessness he entered Seattle’s Columbia City Assisted Living Center in 1994 and remained there until his death on July 30, 2005.