Eddie Thompson
Edgar Charles "Eddie" Thompson (born May 31, 1925 in Shoreditch , London , † November 6, 1986 in London) was a British jazz pianist .
Life
Thompson was blind like George Shearing and studied at the same Linden Lodge in Wandsworth school for the blind . From the mid-1940s he was at London's jazz scene is active (working but casually as piano tuner) and took in 1948 with quartet of Johnny Dankworth (with Victor Feldman on the drums) and entered in 1949 at the Paris Jazz Fair with the band of Carlo Krahmer on who was also a drummer and behind the Esquire label . In the 1950s Thompson had his own groups (trio, quintet recordings at Tempo ) and played with Tony Crombie , Vic Ash , Tommy Whittle and Ronnie Scott , in whose club he was the house pianist in 1959/60. In the early 1960s he played regularly in the Downbeat Club. In 1962 he moved to the USA, where he was well received in the New York jazz scene (where he befriended Duke Ellington , Thelonious Monk , Erroll Garner ) and played at Hickory House in New York City from 1963 to 1967 .
In 1972 he returned to London. He played regularly in the BBC Jazz Club, had a long engagement in the Jazz Cellar in Stockport and played regularly in the Pizza Express in London. He also recorded numerous records with his trio ( Len Skeat Bass, Martin Drew and later Jim Hall drums), including for the 77 label, Hep Records and for BASF . In the 1980s he often accompanied traveling US jazz musicians, including the tensor saxophonist Spike Robinson, who performed again in Great Britain after a long absence (in the 1940s he was one of the Bop pioneers in London) . He also recorded with trombonist Roy Williams . In 1985 he appeared again in New York for the first time in thirteen years with a three-week engagement as a duo with the pianist Roger Kellaway in the Upstairs and as a solo pianist. He died of the long-term effects of heavy smoking ( emphysema ).
Thompson could play in a variety of styles. In addition to his early role model Art Tatum , who was also blind, he was also influenced by Oscar Peterson , Erroll Garner and Nat King Cole , whom he also imitated if necessary. He had a sophisticated technique and knew hundreds of sometimes obscure song titles by heart (with a preference for George Gershwin titles).
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Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thompson, Eddie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thompson, Edgar Charles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 31, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Shoreditch , London |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 6, 1986 |
| Place of death | London |