Just One More Chance: A Proper Introduction To Lucky Thompson (2004)

"Born in Columbia, SC, on June 16, 1924, tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson bridged the gap between the physical dynamism of swing and the cerebral intricacies of bebop, emerging as one of his instrument's foremost practitioners and a stylist par excellence. Proper continues it's excellent Introduction To series with this volume of tracks that either include Lucky Thompson as a prominently featured sideman or as a leader. There are 23 tracks here which include some early rare transcriptions of Thompson with violinist Stuff Smith ("Test Pilots 1 & 2"), and Dicky Wells ("Sugar Hip"), and they traverse from the '30s through to the early '60s with his progressive big band on "Mambo in Blues" and "The Scene Is Clean." Sound is varied but is generally very good." (Jason Ankeny & Thom Jurek, Allmusic)