International Archives For The Jazz Organ (IAJO) - The Jazz Organ Scene USA

Sir Charles Thompson

Charles (* 1918 in Springfield, OH) first studied violin and briefly played tenor saxophone, but took up piano as a teenager." He moved with his family to Parsons, Kansas. Later Thompson attended a Kansas City high school.

By the age of twelve, Thompson was playing private parties with Bennie Moten and his band in Colorado Springs, Colorado. During this time Count Basie played off and on with Moten's band. During a show Basie called the young Charles up to play. He was dubbed Sir Charles Thompson by Lester Young.

Charles chiefly worked with small groups, including the Coleman Hawkins/Howard McGhee sextet in 1944-1945. Throughout the 1940s he played and recorded with Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis and J.C. Heard, among others. He played with Lucky Millinder's big band in 1946, and under Illinois Jacquet in 1947-48 and 1952.

He worked freelance, principally on organ, for much of the 1950s. He played with Parker again in 1953 and recorded with Vic Dickenson and Buck Clayton in 1953-54. Charles worked with Earl Bostic in the late 1950s before heading his own quartet in 1959.

In the early 1960s he toured Europe and Canada with Buck Clayton. Charles was in Europe again in 1964, with Jazz at the Philharmonic, and in 1967 for the show Jazz from a Swinging Era. Living variously on the West Coast, where he often worked with Vernon Alley, and in Toronto, Paris, and Zürich, he continued to lead small groups through the 1970s and 1980s. He composed the jazz standard "Robbins' Nest".

Charles died in 2016 at the age of 98.

from Wikipedia

Little Jimmy Rushing And The Big Brass Columbia CL 1152 recorded February 1958 through June 1959 released 1958	Jimmy Rushing, vocals Rudy Powell, alto sax Earle Warren, alto sax Don Byas, tenor sax Coleman Hawkins, tenor sax Buddy Tate, tenor sax Danny Bank, baritone sax Vic Dickenson, trombone Urbie Green, trombone Frank Rehak, trombone Dicky Wells, trombone Emmett Berry, trumpet Doc Cheatham, trumpet Buck Clayton, trumpet Mel Davis, trumpet Bernie Glow, trumpet Danny Barker, guitar Skeeter Best, guitar Ray Bryant, piano Nat Pierce, piano Sir Charles Thompson, organ Milt Hinton, bass Gene Ramey, bass Jo Jones, drums Osie Johnson, drums
Sir Charles Thompson And The Swing Organ Columbia CS 8205 released 1959 recorded in New York City/USA	Sir Charles Thompson, organ Rudy Rutherford, clarinet Percy France, sax tenor Aaron Bell, bass J.C. Heard, drums
Rushing Lullabies Columbia CL 1401 released 1959 recorded February through June 1959	Jimmy Rushing, vocals Buddy Tate, tenor sax Skeeter Best, guitar Ray Bryant, piano Sir Charles Thompson, organ Gene Ramey, bass Jo Jones, drums
Rockin' Rhythm Columbia CS 8463 released 1961	Sir Charles Thompson, organ Joe Puma, guitar Tiny Grimes, guitar John Pizzarelli, guitar Skeeter Best, guitar Aaron Bell, bass Charles Wellesley, bass J.C. Heard, drums Teo Macero, drums Oliver Jackson jr., drums
Sweet And Lovely Black And Blue 33.142 released 1977	Sir Charles Thompson, organ, piano Sam Woodyard, drums
Midnight Slows Vol. 8 Black And Blue 33.135 released 1978 recorded March 1978 in Paris/France	Illinois Jacquet, sax Hank Jones, piano Sir Charles Thompson, organ George Duvivier, bass J.C. Heard, drums
Ballads Blue Note CDP 7243 8 56690 2 6 compilation	Ike Quebec, tenor sax Grant Green, guitar Willie Jones, guitar Sonny Clark, piano Freddie Roach, organ Sir Charles Thompson, organ Earl van Dyke, organ Milt Hinton, bass Sam Jones, bass Art Blakey, drums Al Harewood, drums Louis Hayes, drums J.C. Heard, drums Wilbert Hogan, drums
The Complete Blue Note 45 Session Blue Note 11441 recorded September 1960 in Hackensack, NJ/USA	Ike Quebec, tenor sax Sir Charles Thomson, organ Milt Hinton, bass J.C. Heard, drums
Jazz From A Swinging Area Lone Hill Jazz LHJ10245 recorded March/April 1967	Buck Clayton, trumpet Earl Hines, piano Budd Johnson, soprano sax, tenor sax Earle Warren, alto sax, clarinet Bud Freeman, tenor sax Vic Dickenson, trombone Roy Eldridge, trumpet Sir Charles Thompson, organ, piano Bill Pemberton, bass Oliver Jackson, drums

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