Passin' Time – Eli "Lucky" Thompson

Originally recorded in a two-tenor sax quintet arrangement, this "cool school" medium-up swinger is based on the standard Blue Lou. Second parts and a condensed score are available for the quintet arrangement.

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Recording: Lucky Thompson - Lucky Thompson And His Orchestra
Recorded on: April 5, 1956
Label: French Columbia (FP 1083)
Concert Key: A-flat
Vocal Range: , to
Style: Swing (medium up)

Tenor Sax - Lucky Thompson, Guy Lafitte
Piano - Martial Solal
Bass - Benoit Quersin
Drums - Roger Paraboschi

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Lucky Thompson - Passin' Time

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A medium-up swinger in a classic "cool school" style. It's based on the changes of Blue Lou, with a melody that outlines a lot of the chromatic side-slipping in this chord progression. There is a solo piano intro on the recording, indicated in the lead sheet but without specific chords or melody. The coda resolves up a half step to Amaj7(♯11).

About the arrangement: As recorded, the two tenor saxes harmonize in fourths in the first half of the A section. The last phrase of the bridge is also harmonized, mostly in thirds. A concert condensed score and second parts are available.

The score is written an octave higher than where it sounds with two tenors. The melody goes a bit low for trumpet, so our B♭ lead sheet would work with the same written pitches for trumpet an octave up. The E♭ lead sheet is also written in this range (with "optional 8vb" indicated), as is the alto sax 2nd part. If you're playing this song with tenor (or guitar) on the melody and alto on the 2nd part, the latter can be played an octave lower.

Though this album is called "Lucky Thompson And His Orchestra," it actually consists of quartet and quintet tracks; none of the songs feature a large ensemble like some others of Lucky's recordings from his 1956 trip to Paris. The three quintet tracks are the only recorded meeting of Lucky Thompson and fellow tenor saxophonist Guy Lafitte. A romantic tenor stylist with a sound not unlike Thompson's, Lafitte can be seen in a classic video from 1958, playing Fats Navarro's Ice Freezes Red in a 5-tenor jam session also featuring Stan Getz, Barney Wilen, Don Byas, and Coleman Hawkins.

Eli "Lucky" Thompson

June 16, 1923 – July 30, 2005

Saxophonist Lucky Thompson is one of the great treasures of jazz. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, but was raised in Detroit, Michigan. He played in local groups with Hank Jones, Sonny Stitt and others. In August, 1943, when he was 19, he left Detroit with Lionel Hampton's Orchestra, eventually arriving in New York City. Still a teenager, his first recording date was with Hot Lips Page on March 18, 1944. Later in 1944 he started recording with both Lucky Millinder and Count Basie. Read more...

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Passin' Time – Eli "Lucky" Thompson

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