Lucky Thompson - Complete Parisian Small Group Sessions 1956-1959 / 4CD set

4 CD Box Set including a 36-page booklet with comprehensive essay by Jordi Pujol, complete sessionography, extensive recording details, rare photos and original art covers.

Lucky Thompson (1924-2005) had never been accorded the praise he deserved in the United States, despite the fact that in the 40s many prominent critics and musicians considered him the finest tenor-saxophone player to appear in jazz since the emergence of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. He never found work easily in his own country, maybe because he expressed his views too forcibly about the various rackets going on behind the glitteringfacade of the musical profession. It got so bad that by the 1950s Lucky was practically ignored by most record labels, which deliberately passed over his name time and time again rather than employ him.

This was the situation in 1956, when he decided to move to Paris—like Don Byas and several others before him—hoping for better things in Europe where his name meant something to jazz critics and collectors. In the months after his arrival in Paris, Lucky appeared on more record sessions than he had in the previous several years in his own country.

These Parisian recordings (1956-1959) went a long way towards proving Lucky Thompson’s stature in jazz; they show that his neglect was uncalled for, and that he was a superb fountain of finely-embroidered jazz improvisation.

Personnel:
Lucky Thompson (ts, ss), Emmett Berry, Fernand Verstraete (tp), Charles Verstraete (tb), Guy Lafitte (ts), Michel de Villers (bs), Martial Solal, Henri Renaud, Sammy Price, Jacques Dieval (p), Michel Hausser, Sadi (vib), Jean-Pierre Sasson (g), Pierre Michelot, Benoit Quersin, Paul Rovere, Gilbert Gassin (b), Gérard Pochonet, Christian Garros, Roger Paraboschi, Kenny Clarke (d), Prinz Ghana M’Bow (perc)