“Robbin’s Nest”—Sir Charles Thompson
"Sir" Charles Thompson (1918-2016) was a pianist/composer who had a particular style that separated him from other piano players. Thompson had the unique quality of combining Basie's swing with bebop's harmonic notions, thus creating a bridge between the two music styles.
I've chosen this 1993 trio-version of his 1947 "Robbins Nest" composition with Sir Charles Thompson-piano; Eddie Jones-string bass; and Eddie Locke-drums, recorded in New York on July 31.
Ohio-born Charles Thompson was influenced by his stepmother Annie who was a pianist and music teacher. She first made him study the violin, which he subsequently played in the city orchestra of Colorado Springs. Because opportunities for black people to play the violin in classical orchestras was limited Charles turned to the piano.
As a 12-year old Charles Thompson accompanied his sister to a dance where Bennie Moten's Orchestra was playing. Someone told the band's pianist Count Basie, that the boy was a talented piano player. According to Thompson Basie let him play during the interval and that's how Charles Thomspson first set foot in the world of jazz.
When his family moved to Kansas Charles became aquainted with musicians like William "Wild Bill" Davis and Buck Clayton.
In the 1930s Thompson played in several dance bands and began to build a reputation as an arranger. He contributed his arrangements to Count Basie as well as to Jimmy Dorsey.
By 1940 Charles Thompson joined the band of Lionel Hampton with whom he made several recordings.
In 1942 Charles Thompson moved to New York to join Lester and Lee Young's sextet at the Café Society nightclub. Later Charles would says that this was "probably the best small group of musicians I ever played with." It was Lester Young who gave Charles Thompson the soubriquet "Sir."
After working with Lucky Millinder’s band Charles Thompson had some great recording sessions with such jazz musicians as Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Buck Clayton, Coleman Hawkins and Howard McGhee.
In 1947 Sir Charles Thompson renewed his relationship with tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet, who also came from Hampton's band. That year they recorded a tune, which would become a jazz classic: Robbins Nest."
It was named after Fred Robbins (1919-1992), a popular radio personality at that time. Robbins first won attention with his Hep Cat way of talking on the "1280 Club" jazz show for WHN radio in New York City. Robbins later became the disk jockey of the "Robbins Nest" radio show on WINS, WABC and WNEW.
Pianist Billy Strayhorn also wrote a piece for Robbins in 1947 called "Snibor," which is Robbins name spelt backwards.
In 1953, Sir Charles Thompson also recorded a 16 minute version of Robbins Nest with a group directed by Buck Clayton. From then on Thompson had some fine recording sessions for Columbia and Vanguard records.
In the 1990s Sir Charles Thompson moved to Japan where his career took off again. In 2002, after marrying his Japanese wife Makiko, he settled in Tokyo, where he died four years later, at the age of 98.
