Eddie Thompson: Brit Wit
Our friend Brad Terry tells this one about his late friend, the British pianist Eddie Thompson, with whom Brad performed and recorded. Thompson, like the better known British jazz pianist George Shearing, was sightless. The two pianists were friends and, along with their blindness, shared a kind of wacky sense of humor, which sometimes made that blindness its subject. This is an example. Shearing is sitting with a group of friends when Eddie Thompson comes into the room. Without a word, he comes up behind Shearing, sticks his fingers in his friend’s ears and says, “Guess who!” Here’s another example of the Thompson wit, this one provided by Bill Crow. Eddie Thompson was trying to play a set in a very noisy night club. The roar of conversation made the piano nearly inaudible. A few customers down front were trying to hear the music, and one of them rose in righteous indignation. He loudly went “SHHHHH!!” From the piano, Eddie said, “I’m sorry, I’m playing as quietly as I can.” Excerpted from Bill Crow’s Jazz Anecdotes, with the author’s permission. |