Butch Thompson: from Mendota’s Emporium of Jazz to Northfield’s Grand Event Center

Butch Thompson at the Emporium of Jazz Butch Thompson at the Emporium of Jazz  Hall Bros
I first experienced Butch Thompson’s piano and clarinet playing in 1966 when I was 17 years old and regularly sneaking into the Emporium of Jazz in Mendota to hear the Hall Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band and try out my moves on the tiny Funky Butt dance floor. (Above right photo thumbnail links to the MNHS collection photo of the Hall Brothers. Butch is 3rd from the right.) See his history page for more, as well as this ArtSwirl blog post on his trio’s performance tonight at The Grand, the launch of Northfield’s First Annual Jazz Festival. Here’s a YouTube video of his trio from 2007:

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