Tenor sax man Lucky Thompson was born on June 16, 1924 in Columbia, South Carolina and grew up in Detroit. He has been described by one jazz critic as being the saxophonist that "connected the swing era to the more cerebral and complex bebop style. His sophisticated, harmonically abstract approach to the tenor saxophone built off that of Don Byas and Coleman Hawkins; he played with beboppers but resisted Charlie Parker's pervasive influence."

Thompson’s mother passed away when he was young and he became responsible for the care of his siblings, all the time practicing saxophone fingerings on a broomstick until he could afford to purchase an instrument. In the 1940s he played with bands led by Lionel Hampton and Lucky Millinder and spent some time as a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. In 1944 he was briefly a member of the Billy Eckstein group along with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. In 1948 Lucky Thompson led a band at the Savoy Ballroom in New York.

During the 1950s Thompson worked with some rhythm and blues artists and became active in composing, recording and publishing. During that decade he also performed and recorded with Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Kenny Clarke and Milt Jackson. By the time the 1960s rolled around Thompson was becoming tired of the music business and spent some time living in Europe. He is quoted as describing the business side of the music industry as being run by “parasites” and “vultures.”

After teaching at Dartmouth in the early 1970s, Lucky Thompson retired from the music business. He spent his final years living in Seattle, Washington where he was homeless for a while. Thompson suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died in an assisted living facility in 2005.

Here is a link to Lucky Thompson playing I’ll Remember April during a televised appearance on French television in 1957:

"I'LL REMEMBER APRIL"