Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Leslie Anthony Joseph Thompson was born on October 17, 1901 in Kingston, Jamaica where  as a child he studied music at the Roman Catholic Alpha Cottage School. When he was 16, he joined the West India Regiment and played in their band locally in Kingston movie palaces in the 1920s.

Moving to London, England in 1929 and studying at Kneller Hall. During this time he played euphonium and cornet. In 1930 he began playing with Spike Hughes, where he played trumpet, trombone, and double bass until 1932. Thompson toured Europe with Louis Armstrong, then formed his own band, intended to be all-black although initially with two white trombonists who blacked up. with the help of Ken “Snakehips” Johnson, who himself took over control of this band in 1936. Jiver Hutchinson was one of his sidemen.

In 1936–37 Leslie played with Benny Carter, and later played double bass with Edmundo Ros. He served in the Royal Artillery on the south coast during World War II. He had been unable to become a bandmaster in the army because of rules preventing black soldiers becoming officers. He was active in dance halls and nightclubs after the war, but stopped playing music professionally after 1954 and later became a parole officer.

His autobiography was first published by Rabbit Press in 1985, and was reissued as Swing from a Small Island – The Story of Leslie Thompson by Northway Publications in 2009. Trumpeter Leslie Thompson passed away on December 26, 1987 in London, England.

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