Danny Ray Thompson (October 1, 1947 – March 12, 2020) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician. He played

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

with the Sun Ra Arkestra and managed the band for a period of time.

Early life

Thompson was born in New York City, to Elgie and Oscar Leonard Thompson. Soon his family moved to Los Angeles, California but after high school Thompson returned to New York City and attended night classes at

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

Career

Thompson's first concert was with

Babatunde Olatunji Michael Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Early life Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nig ...

and after meeting

Marshall Allen Marshall Belford Allen (born May 25, 1924) is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and the EWI. Allen is best known for his work with Sun Ra, having recorded and performed ...

, Thompson was introduced to Sun Ra. The first Arkestra album Thompson appeared on was 1967's ''

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

''. He made his first live appearance with the Arkestra in April, 1968 at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Thompson, along with fellow Arkestra members Marshall Allen and Charles Davis, was present for a 100th birthday celebration for Sun Ra at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Danny Ray 1947 births 2020 deaths Jazz musicians from New York City American jazz baritone saxophonists African-American jazz musicians Sun Ra Arkestra members 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American saxophonists 21st-century African-American musicians