Butch Thompson Trio
The Butch Thompson Trio, (Butch on piano and clarinet, with bass & drums) has earned critical and popular acclaim across the U.S. and around the world for its fresh approach to the classic early jazz tradition.
"The performance Saturday night was a raging success, Butch was charming and the audience loved the trio." - Vermont Lane Series
Read review of Trio performance from The Indianapolis Star
LISTEN TO THE TRIO:
"Nobody's Sweetheart Now" by Elmer Schoebel "Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael "The Charleston" by James P. Johnson
ABOUT THE TRIO
Well-known across America from its long run on public radio's A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, the Butch Thompson Trio has earned critical and popular recognition around the world for its exuberant brand of classic jazz and ragtime. Specializing in the music of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, and other heroes of early jazz, the Trio offers concert audiences a closeup of a vital chapter in American music.
A typical concert by the Trio includes jazz, blues, ragtime, and pop songs laced with Butch’s entertaining and informative commentary. His celebrated piano playing is the obvious centerpiece, but the Trio is a true musical partnership based on mutual respect and experience. The Trio's bassist and drummer are masters of the subtle interplay that is the hallmark of the best traditional jazz, and the sheer pleasure of ensemble music-making is the Trio's real message. Repertoire ranges from the familiar (Maceo Pinkard's "Sweet Georgia Brown," Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag", and W. C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues") to the exotic (Jelly Roll Morton's Latin-flavored "Creepy Feeling"), and the lyrical (Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark," or Butch's clarinet feature, "Mood Indigo" by Duke Ellington.)