Butch Thompson

One of the top pre-bop pianists to be active after the 1970s, Butch Thompson's piano playing stretched from Jelly Roll Morton and James P. Johnson to swing; he was also an excellent (if occasional) New Orleans-style clarinetist. In 1962, he joined the Hall Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band in Minneapolis, an association that lasted over 20 years. Thompson led his own trio starting in the mid-'60s, and from 1974 to 1986 he appeared regularly on Garrison Keillor's very popular radio series A Prairie Home Companion. He recorded extensively for many labels including Center, Jazzology, GHB, Stomp Off, and Daring. Butch Thompson on August 14, 2022, at his home in St. Paul, Minnesota, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 78 years of age.
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