Lucky Thompson with Fletcher Henderson

[Brownian Motion]

According to Walter Allen's "Hendersonia", Fletcher Henderson's last working band was a sextet which featured a front line of Dick Vance on trumpet, Eddie Barefield on clarinet, and Lucky Thompson on tenor sax. Although this 1950 group made no commercial recordings, some well-recorded air-checks of the band do survive. Has anybody heard these, and have they ever been available commercially?

[couw]

look what I found: amazon link

looks interesting!

[couw]

there is another disk listed on the site of the German label that put this out.

The disk I quoted in my first reply has:

1. Christopher Columbus (Theme) / Royal Gar 04: 28

2. In A Little Spanish Town 02: 16

3. Don't Cha Go 'way Mad 03: 48

4. Rose Room 02: 40

5. Byas A Drink 03: 07

6. Star Dust 03: 52

7. Rockin In Rhythm 02: 02

8. Bugle Blues 02: 43

9. Perdido 04: 07

10. Minerva 02: 46

11. I Found A New Baby 03: 18

12. Soft Winds 05: 10

the other one has:

1. C Jam Blues 02: 54

2. Star Dust 04: 08

3. Minerva 02: 47

4. Three Buckets Of Live 02: 33

5. I Found A New Baby 03: 26

6. Anything You Want 02: 30

7. Chartreuse 03: 24

8. Somethimes I'm Happy 02: 28

9. Rose Room 02: 41

10. Soft Winds 05: 13

no idea on quality, source, legal stuff etc.

[Brownian Motion]

Thanks! I ordered both.

[mmilovan]

This is something really interesting!!! Fletcher with Lucky!

Couw, did you hear something from these albums?

And, speaking of members of the band, do not ever forget that Jimmy Crawford was regular Jimmie Lunceford drummer for many years!

Edited December 20, 2003 by mmilovan

[agriffith]

Brownian, you won't be dissapointed. I have the lp that matches up with the second cd shown above. Great stuff; surprisingly good sound quality. I've never heard the first session mentioned, but I'm sure it's great as well. There can never be enough Lucky Thompson for sure!

[mikeweil]

The tracks on the first CD posted above (white cover) were first issued on Solid Sender LP SOL 517 (a German label specializing on rare stuff mostly from the 1940's recorded in California and featuring Lucky Thompson and Jack McVea, among others); the CD was either dubbed from that LP or used the same source material, as design, liner notes, sound and surface noise are virtually identical.

These are all broadcast recordings made at Café Society. One side that is not on any of these CDs (This is Jazz) was issued as a 78 rpm on Stardust 105, with a Doc Evans side on the flip; it was included on the Swingtime LP 1005 featuring Thompson.

Dieter Salemann's discography of Lucky's works between 1943 and 1950 lists seven sessions that were broadcast, and three LP issues of material from these that partially overlap: Solod Sender SOL 517, Trans-Ark 1002 and Alamac QSR 2444 (the latter also on Musidisc 30 JA 5185). The tracks couw posted for the second CD tell me this could be a reissue of the Alamac LP.

This is very nice music and sure worth buying, the band was very well together.

Edited December 21, 2003 by mikeweil

[JSngry]

This is something I would like very much to hear!

On a side note - have any recordings of Sun Ra's time w/Henderson surfaced? Are tehre even any rumors of any existing?

[Brownian Motion]

This is something I would like very much to hear!

On a side note - have any recordings of Sun Ra's time w/Henderson surfaced? Are tehre even any rumors of any existing?

Sun Ra is listed in the book as having played with Henderson in '47 or '48, but there is no indication that he ever recorded with him.

[Brownian Motion]

These CDs came yesterday. Observations:

The group is tightly arranged, with Fletcher and Vance probably doing most of the charts; the band sound is reminiscent of John Kirby's group. The only arrangement crdited is the work of "Frank McCarthy" {Who he?}.

It's a pleasure to hear Lucky in a straight swing context. I particularly enjoyed his solo on "Soft Winds", but he doesn't play a bad note on any of his solos.

I've never thought much of Vance's trumpet work; he was with Fletcher in the 1930s; and his style has always veered back and forth between lesser versions of Harry James and Charlie Shavers . But his one vocal effort on Louis Jordan's "She Dyed Her Hair Chartreuse" sounds so much like Johnny Mercer, who I think is a superb jazz-pop vocalist, that I began wondering why Fletcher never used Vance on records in the 1930s band, instead polluting his most commercial records with annoying and completely forgettable crooners. Who knows, Vance might have become a vocal star and helped extend Fletcher's Big Band career.

Sound on these is decent, but the total playing time would have fit easily on one CD; of course then the company wouldn't have been able to charge me double.

Edited January 18, 2004 by Brownian Motion