Thompson 45

“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.

After he stopped teaching in 1974, Lucky Thompson permanently dropped out of music. On what would be his final album, Thompson (along with keyboardist Cedar Walton, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes) performs five mostly straight-ahead originals, "The Moment of Truth," and the standard "Cherokee." Thompson, switching between tenor and soprano, was still very much in his musical prime at the time of this LP but apparently soon became sick of the whole music business, a major loss to jazz. He plays quite well throughout the set.

“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.

A very nice disc from Thompson and his Freebop group. New Standards takes on a nice variety of material, from "If I Only Had a Brain" to a couple of pieces by Thompson himself, including a drastic rearrangement of "Dyhia Malika" that freshens it up and expands it musically. The playing is entertainingly upbeat, keeping the music interesting even when Thompson and the band go off into improvisational wilds. Thompson's trumpet work is outstanding, entertaining and listenable without condescending to the production of light and fluffy jazz.

A very nice disc from Thompson and his Freebop group. New Standards takes on a nice variety of material, from "If I Only Had a Brain" to a couple of pieces by Thompson himself, including a drastic rearrangement of "Dyhia Malika" that freshens it up and expands it musically. The playing is entertainingly upbeat, keeping the music interesting even when Thompson and the band go off into improvisational wilds. Thompson's trumpet work is outstanding, entertaining and listenable without condescending to the production of light and fluffy jazz.

The Michael Thompson Band is back with a brand new album, “The Love Goes On”. A new MTB album is, of course, always cause for celebration among AOR fans, but "The Love Goes On" is a particularly exciting entry as it sees the return of original vocalist Moon Calhoun (The Strand, Moon Over Paris, Western Front ft. Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy) to the fold. Calhoun sang on the band's legendary debut album, "How Long", which is generally regarded as one of the all-time great West Coast AOR albums. Calhoun, Thompson, and bassist Tom Croucier (ex-Life By Night, and yes, brother of Ratt's Juan Croucier) wrote all the songs on the album, delivering another high quality serving of classic AOR that the Michael Thompson Band has come to be known for. Drummer Annas Aliaf rounds out the line-up.

Antoine Reicha, born Antonín Rejcha in Prague, moved in adolescence with his family to Bonn, playing violin and flute under the direction of his uncle in the court orchestra in which Beethoven also served. In 1794 he moved to Hamburg, where he took up teaching and composition instead of performance. In 1799 he tried for operatic success in Paris, but when this failed he moved to Vienna, renewing acquaintance with Beethoven and Haydn. Here he won considerable success, returning to Paris once more in 1808 where he enjoyed esteem as a composer and, above all, as a teacher at the Conservatoire. His pupils included Berlioz, Liszt and, for a short time, César Franck. He was the author of a number of important theoretical treatises.