Thompson 45

This Commodore material culls out tracks from sessions headed by others, but which feature tenor saxophonists Chu Berry and Lucky Thompson. The Chu Berry cuts come from separate Roy Eldridge and Hot Lips Page sets. Hot Lips Page also led the group, which included the Lucky Thompson tracks heard here. Berry was killed at the age of 31 in a car accident. Although he spent most of his performing career in someone else's sax section, there's no telling what heights he might have reached if he lived longer. His version of "Body and Soul" on this album was recorded 11 months to the day prior to Coleman Hawkins', the man usually given the credit for "setting the saxophone free." Yet Berry was as improvisational as Hawkins would later be…

Recorded Live At Rock City, Nottingham, November - 1986. Available for the first time on CD. Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, Richard Thompson is also one of the world's most critically acclaimed and prolific songwriters. He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards for Songwriting on both sides of the Atlantic - from the Americana Music Association in Nashville to Britain's BBC Awards and the prestigious Ivor Novello. In 2011, Thompson was the recipient of the OBE (Order of the British Empire) personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Most recently, the Americana Music Honors & Awards nominated him for ''Artist of the Year''.

This is the long awaited acoustic album from Keith Thompson. A raw and passionate collection of songs showcasing the singer/songwriter in Keith. As the title suggests strength and weakness, the songs tackle subjects as diverse as lost love, the Mississipi floods, moral choices and political correctness. Also featuring some great slide guitar from Keith and some mean saxophone from Patsy Gamble. Keith is primarily a songwriter and a guitarist although he plays many instruments.He performs music on a professional level solo or with great musicians in The Keith Thompson Band in the genre of blues/rock.He also writes and records music, some of which have been used on TV, computer games and production company releases. You won't be interested in networking with Keith unless you are into music in a big way. Real music and thoughtful lyrics.

Malachi Thompson is impressive not only because of his talents as a composer and a soloist, but also because of his versatility. The Chicago trumpeter has no problem playing Blue Note-flavored hard bop/post-bop, but he's equally comfortable in avant-garde situations. Though Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and Freddie Hubbard are strong influences on Thompson, he has also learned a lot from Lester Bowie. In fact, Bowie is a featured guest on Buddy Bolden's Rag. This superb CD finds Thompson celebrating the contributions of New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden, one of jazz's pioneers and a major influence on such greats as King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. It has been argued that Bolden single-handedly "invented" jazz in the 1890s, and while it's a stretch to say that he invented jazz all by himself, he most certainly played a crucial role in its development…

“To be moving is better than to be standing still,” Richard Thompson says, and Richard Thompson should know. The influential singer-songwriter and virtuosic guitarist has been on a singular musical journey for over a half century, from his days in the ‘60s as a pioneer of British folk rock with Fairport Convention, to his seminal ‘70s duo work with Linda Thompson, to the exploratory, deeply emotional music of the solo career that has been his primary concern ever since.

The Thompson Twins – who were neither a duo nor related, but simply named after the Tin Tin cartoon – were one of the more popular synth pop groups of the early MTV era, scoring a handful of hits before fading away into lite-funk obscurity. While many of their contemporaries indulged in stylish variations on Roxy Music or robotic electronic funk, the Thompson Twins were more pop-oriented, even when they strayed into dance-pop. Despite their success – "Hold Me Now," "Lay Your Hands on Me," "King for a Day" all reached the U.S. Top Ten – the group was unable to successfully expand their synth pop sound and, consequently, their audience had virtually disappeared by the late '80s.