The following edited transcript contains excerpts from a telephone interview of Daryl (or Darryl) Adonis Thompson, the son of Eli “Lucky” Thompson, by Noal Cohen, on February 11, 2008. Daryl Thompson was the middle child of Lucky Thompson and an accomplished guitarist and jewelry maker. He died in 2014. NC: Did you know your grandparents?… Read more
Lucky Thompson Bibliography
This is a selected bibliography of Eli “Lucky” Thompson listed alphabetically by author. For more information on Thompson, see his intro page on this website. Atkins, Ronald. “Lucky Thompson In Britain,” Jazz Monthly, 8/6 (August 1962), 24. Bernstein, Adam, “Versatile Jazz Tenor Saxophonist Eli ‘Lucky’ Thompson Dies at 81,” Washington Post, August 5, 2005. Bjorn, Lars… Read more
Lucky Thompson Timeline
First published June 19, 2023. This timeline will be modified as comments are received. Please use the contact form to submit additions or corrections. See also Lucky Thompson Discography: 1943-1950, 1951-1956, 1957-1974. Latest update June 29, 2023 1923 Born in Columbia, SC on June 16 to Levi (Eli) Thompson, Sr. and Azalee Dawkins Thompson. Family… Read more
Bird and Duke
The following essay was written in the summer of 2020 to recognize the centennial of Charlie Parker, and was published in the November-December 2020 issue of The Duke Ellington Society (NY) Newsletter. The Charlie Parker Centennial – August 29, 2020 In late summer 2020, as we confront the health and economic consequences of a frightening… Read more
2020 Was a Rough Year for Jazz
2020 was certainly a challenging year, one that brought destructive weather, wildfires, acrimonious politics and a deadly pandemic that is not only killing hundreds of thousands worldwide but also causing vast economic dislocations. Many in the arts have suffered as venues have been forced to close temporarily or permanently and jazz musicians are among those… Read more
About Noal Cohen
Although an only child, I come from a musical family. My father played the violin and one of his sisters was a piano teacher. My maternal uncle is the late composer David Diamond who often lived with us in Rochester, NY, in the 1940s and 1950s. The clarinetist Z. Mitchell Weiss is my first cousin… Read more