Butch
Thompson
Pianist Butch Thompson, described by Jazz Journal International as "the premier player in traditional jazz today," maintains a busy schedule of concerts, festivals, recording and teaching. Highlights of his current season are appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Cairo Symphony, the Erie Philharmonic, and many other orchestras; solo tours in Hungary and Japan; national touring with his well-known trio and concerts with his new eight-piece band, The New Orleans Jazz Originals. Continuing an association of over 20 years, he will also guest several times on Garrison Keillor's nationally syndicated radio show, A Prairie Home Companion.
Butch's love affair with jazz and ragtime began during his childhood in Marine-on-St. Croix, Minnesota. He started playing piano at age three, began piano lessons at six, and had an early interest in blues and boogie woogie. As a teenager, he played clarinet in the Stillwater High School band, formed his first jazz group (Shirt Thompson and his Sleeves), and played his first professional engagements.
While a student at the University of Minnesota in 1962, he took over the clarinet chair in Minneapolis' Hall Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band. He also began a series of pilgrimages to New Orleans, where he met and played with veteran musicians, notably clarinetist George Lewis, and was among the few non-natives to play occasionally at New Orleans' Preservation Hall during the 6Os and 70s. By the early 70s, his recordings on both piano and clarinet had been noticed abroad, and he toured Europe, Scandinavia and Australia.
During the 70s and 80s, Butch toured frequently in Europe, playing festivals (including the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and the Festival of New Orleans Music in Ascona, Switzerland) and solo concerts. In 1985, he formed his King Oliver Centennial Band, which toured in Europe through the late 80s. More recently, he has appeared at the Brecon Festival in England and Pori Jazz in Finland, and in March 1998, he toured and played in Hungary.
In 1974, Butch began his well-remembered 12-year run as the house pianist on A Prairie Home Companion, dating back to the show's second broadcast in July of that year. The Butch Thompson Trio, formed for the show in 1978, was the house band until 1986. Since then, Butch has appeared often as a guest on the show.
In addition to his career as a performer, Butch writes articles and reviews on jazz and produces his own weekly show, Jazz Originals, on KBEM radio in Minneapolis. His writing has appeared in Down Beat, The Mississippi Rag, Keyboard Classics, New Orleans Music, and other magazines, as well as in various CD booklets, among them the 1937 GRP release Jelly Roll Morton: Last Recordings.
Thompson's most recent CD, Thompson Plays Joplin, was released February 1998. This solo is the ninth in Thompson's acclaimed solo series for the Daring/Rounder label. He also played on the Grammy-nominated 1997 Verve release Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton. His 1968 album Butch Thompson Plays Jelly Roll Morton Piano Solos was recently reissued on a CD by Biograph.
