Richard Enos "Butch" Thompson (November 28, 1943 – August 14, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and clarinetist best known for his ragtime and stride performances.

Music career

Thompson was born in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota, began playing piano at the early age of three, and began taking lessons at age six. At Stillwater Area High School, he played clarinet in the band. In 1962 he joined the Hall Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band in Minneapolis and remained with the band for twenty years. From 1974–1986, he was a regular and the original pianist on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Since the 1960s, he led the Butch Thompson Trio.

Butch Thompson

In the 1970s, Thompson's recordings gained popularity in Europe. He toured the continent extensively in the 1970s and 1980s, both as a solo artist and as a band leader or member. He wrote for jazz publications and produced a radio show, Jazz Originals, for KBEM-FM in Minneapolis.

Butch Thompson

Selected discography

Yulestride (Daring Records, 1994)

Butch Thompson

Death

Thompson died on August 14, 2022, at the age of 78.

References

External links

Official site

1943 births

2022 deaths

American jazz clarinetists

American jazz pianists

American male pianists

People from Washington County, Minnesota

Ragtime pianists

Stride pianists

20th-century American pianists

Jazz musicians from Minnesota

21st-century American pianists

21st-century clarinetists

20th-century American male musicians

21st-century American male musicians

American male jazz musicians