Driving home after dinner tonight, we happened to hear
Butch Thompson playing piano on "A Prairie Home Companion". Butch had been a regular on the show a while ago, but he's moved on and is only an occasional guest these days.
When I got home, I went searching (that's what I do, after all!) to see if any of Butch's performances were online. I found this recording of him playing "A Solas", the piece we'd heard on the radio:
I also was able to find a few pieces of him playing in various ensembles. Although his solo piano is awesome, he's also quite an asset to a band -- we were fortunate enough to have him at one of our
Blue Tent Parties a few years ago.
In addition to his
performing skills, he writes frequently about
jazz. He's considered a
Jelly Roll Morton expert, and was a consultant for the Broadway show
"Jelly’s Last Jam".
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