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 moves to Detroit, MI. Mother Azalee dies shortly after move.
- Early 1940s Does not own a saxophone until age 17 but teaches himself fingering early on by carving notches in a broom handle. Attends Cass Technical High School and begins playing professionally just 6 months after acquiring his first instrument. Advertised as “Detroit’s own sensational young tenor sax star!” Studies with Clarence Byrne and with Francis Hellstein of Detroit Symphony, harmony and theory under John Phelps. First job with the “Bama State Collegians” led by Claude Trenier.
- 1943 Plays in the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Billy Eckstine.
- 1944 First studio recordings with Hot Lips Page for Commodore Records (Mar.). Also records with Lucky Millinder Band (Decca Records, May) and Page again in November for the Continental label.
- 1944 Replaces Illinois Jacquet in Count Basie Band and records for Columbia Records in December soloing on “Taps Miller.”
- 1944 Jam sessions at the home of Timme Rosenkrantz in New York City with Erroll Garner and Stuff Smith (recorded).
- Probably 1944 Marries Thelma Lowe (sometimes billed as “Love”), a singer and artist. [Date needs confirmation]
- 1945 Records again with Basie for Columbia soloing on “Avenue C” (Feb.).
- 1945 Lucky Thompson’s daughter Jade born in Harlem (New York City) (Feb.).
- 1945 First recording session as leader with octet for Excelsior Records. Wife Thelma Lowe Thompson sings on two tracks (Fall).
- 1945 Records with Slim Gaillard for Queen Records (Oct.).
- 1945 Records with Oscar Pettiford and Estelle Edson for Black & White label (Nov.).
- 1945 Records with Willie Smith Sextet for Sunset label (Nov.).
- 1945 First of many recordings with Boyd Raeburn Orchestra for AFRS (Dec.).
- 1945 Three recording sessions with Dinah Washington for Apollo Records (Dec.).
- 1946 Quartet recording for Atomic Records under leadership of pianist Dodo Marmarosa (Jan.).
- 1946 Records with Charles Mingus Orchestra for Excelsior Records (Jan.).
- 1946 Records with Dizzy Gillespie Sextet for Dial. Early bebop classics – “Confirmation,” “Diggin’ for Diz,” “Dizzy Atmosphere,” “‘Round Midnight.” (Feb. 6-7)
- 1946 Records with Jimmy Mundy Orchestra (AFRS).
- 1946 Dial recording session in Los Angeles with Charlie Parker Septet – bebop classics – “Night in Tunisia,” “Moose the Mooche,” “Ornithology,” “Yardbird Suite” (Mar. 28).
- 1946 Concert at Compton Junior College with Jack McVea, Irving Ashby (August).
- 1946 Records soundtrack for the movie New Orleans in Hollywood with Louis Armstrong (Sep.).
- 1946 Records with Ivie Anderson for Black & White label (Oct.).
- 1946 Part of Norman Granz’ The Jazz Scene project led by Ralph Burns and George Handy (Oct.).
- 1947 Lucky Thompson and His Lucky Seven record for RCA Victor (Apr.). “Just One More Chance” is compared to Coleman Hawkins’ “Body and Soul.” Octet includes Benny Carter on alto saxophone.
- 1947 Records with Mills Blue Rhythm Band for Royale Records.
- 1947 Leads a quartet session in Hollywood for Down Beat/Swingtime label (July).
- 1947 Thompson honored as Esquire Magazine’s new star awardee for 1947. Pianist Dodo Marmarosa also gets award.
- 1948 Flies to Nice, France for First International Festival; altercation with Joe Glaser, Louis Armstrong’s manager, negatively affects Thompson’s career. First appearances in Europe.
- 1949 Settles in New York City after three years in Los Angeles and appears with Charlie Parker at the Royal Roost and Oscar Pettiford on WPIX-TV.
- 1950 Backs vocalist Al Hibbler on Atlantic Records session (April).
- 1950 Leads his octet on a recording for Triumph Records – “Over the Rainbow.” (mid-year)
- 1950 Plays with Fletcher Henderson Sextet at Café Society (Dec.).
- 1951 Records with Basie for Columbia – “Little Pony” session with Wardell Gray (Apr.).
- 1951 Records with pop vocalist Johnnie Ray for Columbia – 4 bar intro on “Coffee and Cigarettes” (Oct.).
- 1952 Thelonious Monk Sextet session for Blue Note Records with Kenny Dorham, Lou Donaldson, Nelson Boyd, Max Roach (May) – difficult Monk tunes: “Skippy,” “Hornin’ In,” “Sixteen,” “Let’s Cool One.”
- 1952 Backs Jimmy Scott with nonet for Decca (Aug.).
- 1953 Leads octet for Decca session (“Flamingo”) (Aug.).
- 1954 Another Decca session Lucky Thompson and His Lucky Seven (Mar.).
- 1954 Miles Davis All Star Sextet records for Prestige Records (Apr.) (“Walkin,’” “Blue ‘N’ Boogie”) – early classic hard bop session with J.J. Johnson, Horace Silver, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke.
- 1954 Dizzy Gillespie Big Band – Afro sessions for Norgran Records (May, Sept.).
- 1954 Leads quintet for Urania Records – Accent on Tenor Sax; also sessions led by Jimmy Hamilton and Jack Teagarden for same label (Oct.).
- 1954 King Pleasure records “You’re Crying” for Prestige Records (Dec.).
- 1955 Third Stream session (John Lewis, Gunther Schuller) for Norgran Records (Modern Jazz Society) (Mar.).
- 1955 Thompson friends with boxer Archie Moore and lets Moore sit in (bass) with his band (Aug.).
- 1955 Jo Jones Septet session for Vanguard Records (Aug.).
- 1955 Jimmy Cleveland Septet records for EmArcy Records (Aug., Nov.).
- 1955 Lucky Thompson’s son Darryl (“Bo-Bi”) born in New York City (Dec.).
- 1956 Milt Jackson quintet sessions for Savoy Records (Jan.) and sextet for Atlantic.
- 1956 Lucky Thompson Trio and Quintet sessions for ABC- Paramount Records featuring Oscar Pettiford (Jan., Dec.).
- 1956 First extended stay in Paris starts in February and lasts through April. Many recordings with local musicians and ex-patriots.
- 1956 Joins Stan Kenton Band in Paris substituting for baritone saxophonist Jack Nimitz (May).
- 1956 Back in New York City, records Cuban Fire with Kenton for Capitol Records on tenor saxophone (May).
- 1956 With Oscar Pettiford Orchestra, records for ABC-Paramount including his composition “Deep Passion” – Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi (June).
- 1956 Lionel Hampton Septet records for Jazztone Records (Aug.).
- 1956 Quincy Jones Orchestra records for ABC-Paramount – This is How I Feel About Jazz (Sept.).
- 1956 Backs Johnny Hartman for Bethlehem label – All of Me with Ernie Wilkins arrangements (Nov.).
- 1956 Part of Quincy Jones big band behind Dinah Washington for Mercury Records – The Swinging’ Miss D (Dec.).
- 1956 Part of band backing Sammy Davis, Jr. for Decca Records – Sammy Swings (Dec.).
- 1956 In Sy Oliver band backing Louis Armstrong for Decca Records – A Musical Autobiography sessions (Dec.).
- 1956 Records with Chris Connor for Atlantic Records (Dec.).
- 1957 Milt Jackson Sextet session for Atlantic – Plenty, Plenty Soul (Jan.).
- 1957 Ralph Sharon Sextet sessions with Pettiford for Rama Records (Jan.-Feb.).
- 1957 Louis Armstrong – Louis and the Angels sessions for Decca (Jan.).
- 1957 Returns to Paris and records with Eddie Barclay Orchestra, Sammy Price, June Richmond, Martial Solal, Kenny Clarke (May- Sept.).
- 1958 Spends most of the year off the scene, living with his family (Thelma (spouse), Jade (daughter), Darryl (son)) on a 35-acre farm in Belleville, MI.
- 1958 Only documented example of Thompson playing flute occurs in Paris, France – radio broadcast (Dec.).
- 1959 Performs with Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra in Cologne, Germany (Jan.).
- 1959 First studio recording of Thompson on soprano saxophone for Symphonium label in Paris (Jan.) – year before John Coltrane records on the instrument.
- 1959 Performs throughout Europe with quartets often including local musicians.
- 1959 First NDR (North German Radio Network) Jazz Workshop (No. 6) that Thompson performs on from Hamburg, Germany on April 17.
- 1959 Radio broadcast with Oscar Pettiford ensemble from Baden-Baden, Germany (July).
- 1959 Appears at Blue Note Club in Paris with Bud Powell (Nov.) (video).
- 1960 Thompson’s octet on French TV from Blue Note in Paris with his wife Thelma on vocals (Feb.) (video).
- 1960 NDR Jazz Workshop No. 13 from Hamburg (Apr.).
- 1960 Thompson’s octet on French TV from Club. St. Germain, Paris with his wife Thelma on vocals (May) (video).
- 1960 Thompson’s son Kim born in Paris (Sept.).
- 1960 Appears with duo and trio at memorial for Oscar Pettiford in Paris (Oct.).
- 1960 NDR Workshop No. 16 from Hamburg (Nov.).
- 1961 Is part of soundtracks for French movies.
- 1961 Records in Paris with quartet including Martial Solal for English Candid label – Lord, Lord, Am I Ever Gonna Know? (Spring).
- 1961 NDR Jazz Workshop No. 19 from Hamburg – all Thompson compositions and arrangements performed by octet (Apr.).
- 1961 Records in Stockholm with Harry Arnold Big Band (Aug.).
- 1962 NDR Jazz Workshop No. 25 from Frankfurt (May).
- 1962 Appears with quartet at Molde (Norway) Festival (Aug.) (film and radio).
- 1963 Wife Thelma dies of a stroke at age 39. Jet Magazine reports she had been separated from Lucky for a year.
- 1963 Returns to USA and records for Moodsville Records with quartet – Lucky Thompson Plays Jerome Kern and No More (Mar.). First recording of Thompson on soprano saxophone in USA.
- 1964 Octet appears at The Little Theater in New York City – concert recorded but not issued until 2009 (Feb.).
- 1964 Quartet records for Prestige Records in New York City – Lucky Strikes (Sept.).
- 1964 Records a track for Johnny Dankworth’s Zodiac Variations (Oct.).
- 1964 Quincy Jones I/We Had a Ball recording session in New York City for Limelight Records (Dec.).
- 1965 Quartet recording for Rivoli Records in New York City – Lucky Is Back! & Kinfolks Corner.
- 1965 Quintet with harpist records for Prestige Records – Happy Days Are Here Again (Feb.).
- 1965 Quartet performs at Half Note Club in New York City with pianist Paul Neves – radio broadcast – recording issued in 2009 (Feb.).
- 1965 One-off recordings with Art Blakey (Soul Finger, Limelight) and Benny Carter (A Man Called Adam, Reprise).
- 1965 Quartet performs at Left Bank Jazz Society in Baltimore (Dec.).
- 1966 Quartet performs at Left Bank Jazz Society in Baltimore (Apr.).
- 1968 Thompson returns to Europe and performs in several countries. Lives in Switzerland where Darryl and Kim attend a private school.
- 1969 Thompson records in Germany with a sextet for MPS Records – A Lucky Songbook in Europe (Mar.).
- 1970 Thompson performs his composition “Sea Esther” in Zagreb with RTV Zagreb Big Band (Apr.).
- 1970 Quartet recording with Tete Montoliu Trio in Barcelona, Spain for Ensayo label, reissued in USA as Body and Soul on Nessa Records.
- 1971 Back in USA, appears on Like It Is TV show with quartet (Dec.).
- 1972 Thompson becomes one of first recipients of Duke Ellington Medal and becomes an Ellington Fellow at Yale University (Willie Ruff Professor there) – performs at award ceremony (Oct.).
- 1972 Quartet records for Groove Merchant label – Goodbye Yesterday.
- 1973 Quartet records for Groove Merchant label – I Offer You. Thompson’s last studio recording.
- 1974 Becomes visiting professor at Dartmouth College.
- 1974 Concert at Dartmouth backed by Hank Jones, Ron Carter, Tony Williams (Apr.).
- 1974 Performs at Left Bank Jazz Society in Baltimore with Sonny Stitt, Cedar Walton. Sam Jones, Louis Hayes (June).
- 1974 Leaves music permanently and has no permanent address or occupation – only 51 years old.
- 1977 Son Kim dies while in police custody, at age 17. (Nov.)
- 1981 Interviewed by Christopher Kuhl in Savannah, GA – transcript published in New Arts Review (1981) and Cadence Magazine (1982).
- Late 1980s Discovered living in Seattle, WA area in an unhoused condition. Visits Seattle record stores where he is recognized and provided housing assistance.
- 2004 Saxophonist Tad Shull’s essay “When Backward Comes Out Ahead: Lucky Thompson’s Phrasing and Improvisation” published in Annual Review of Jazz Studies.
- 2005 Thompson visited by members of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in his nursing home in Seattle (Jan.). Article about encounter by trumpeter Marcus Printup appears in DownBeat Magazine (May 2006 issue).
- 2005 Thompson dies in Seattle nursing home July 30, 2005, from Alzheimer’s Disease.
- 2006 Four day Chris Byars tribute to Thompson at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City with various ensembles.
- 2007 Saxophonist Michael Blake records The World Awakes: A Tribute to Eli “Lucky” Thompson (Stunt Records CD).
- 2009 Pianist Eric Reed’s quartet with saxophonist Victor Goines performs a week-long tribute to Thompson at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola in New York City (Dec.).
- 2010 Noal Cohen and Chris Byars publish an article, “Lucky Thompson in Paris: The 1961 Candid Records Session” in Current Research in Jazz.
- 2011 Saxophonist Chris Byars records a CD tribute to Thompson with an octet – Lucky Strikes Again – for the Danish SteepleChase label.
- 2014 Son Darryl dies in Stone Mountain, GA at age 58. He was an accomplished guitarist who worked in jazz, blues and rock genres and also a wire artist (jewelry maker). (May)
- 2023 Lucky Thompson Centennial: June 16, 1923 – June 16, 2023.