It’s been posted on a couple of festival groups that Danny Thompson has died. (I hope It’s an error and I have to ask Richard to remove
The greatest double bass player I’ve ever seen, he was a founder of Pentangle, played with Kate Bush, Richard Thompson, Alexis Horner, John Marty, pretty much everyone…
I last saw him guesting on a few numbers at Richard Thompson’s 75th birthday gig a year ago, he was 85 and had to be helped to the stage, as soon as his fingers touched Victoria (his bass)‘s strings the age fell away.
Brilliant musician, lovely bloke, rest in peace maestro
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Very sad news, if true ( I haven’t yet seen anything elsewhere online to confirm though).
He had a lovely album released on the Naim label with Jon Thorne - Watching The Well.
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A wonderful, wonderful bass player, one of my absolute favourites. I only got to see him live once, at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley with his jazz band Danny Thompson’s Whatever. He will be much missed.
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Sad news indeed, a wonderful player of all kinds of music.
Very sad news. I have seen him with RT a few times and in Oxford when Pentangle had reformed for a tour - that must be ten years ago now. Of course I have numerous recordings in which he was involved from folk, jazz, rock and ‘world music’ (Songhai is a favourite of the latter). I have the Whatever albums, only recently getting a copy of Elemental. I was prompted to find that by the realisation that he was a key figure in the London Jazz world, which is now being celebrated in the British Jazz Explosion LP releases. For example he plays on John Cameron’s Off Centre (released earlier this year, I think) and Stan Tracey plays on Elemental.
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Utterly brilliant musician and a very funny man. I doubt anyone who knew him would describe him as “lovely” though. Mellowed as he aged but he was fearsome and could occasionally be very scary indeed.
One of those lovely sui generis musicians who only ever sounded like himself. If you couldn’t recognise Danny on bass then you’d not really been listening properly.
Saw him with Richard on multiple occasions but their performance as an acoustic duo at the Royal Exchange in Manchester in February 1995 remains one of my top three gigs of all time. My closest friend and I pretty much floated home afterwards.
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RIP Danny. Saw him a few times, loved those stories about him and John Martyn
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Had the pleasure of Danny with Pentangle many moons ago at a theatre in Oldham.
I have or had one of Danny’s solo albums which i enjoyed.
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RIP. Apart from that fine recording he was on with John Cameron’s Quartet, not forgetting too the two jazz albums recorded with Harold McNair and also his early work with one of Tubby Hayes’ quartets. A class musician.
As @Camphuw has posted it’s coming through from multiple musicians who knew him, as well as Richard Thompson Fairport and Ian Anderson have posted.
Despite his well justified reputation as a scary hell-raiser in his youth, he was always a really nice bloke to chat to when I ran into him at the Half Moon Putney or Cropredy.
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Very sad, I saw him a number of times with Mr Martyn and he was magnificent. He will be much missed in this house.
RIP Danny.
Saw him play at various times with Richard and a more facially expressive bass player you would struggle to find.
A great truly great musician.
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Yes, that was the album. Enjoy.
Very sad news. Loved his playing in Pentangle, who for me were the most influential group on the folk scene. I still regularly go back to their albums.
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Such sad news, a wonderful musician and nice bloke.I first saw him playing with Pentangle at the “Windsor Jazz And Blues Festival” August 1967. Pentangle were yet to release any recordings and this was their first big gig. I was a huge Bert and John fan so it was a very exciting time for me. There they were both playing at this early point in the bands career electric guitars, whilst Danny steadfastly stuck to his stand up bass! They didn’t go down too well on the main stage, it was more of a Cream/Fleetwood Mac crowd, but in one of the marquees for a second set they were magic. Danny was on fire! I’d like to think that Bert, John and Danny are playing together tonight.
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There’s a story in one of the John Martyn biographies about him and Thompson touring. They enter a pub and Danny puts money behind the bar for drinks and some extra ‘for the fighting.’
The landlord said: “But there isn’t any fighting?”
“Oh, there will be…”
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Sad to hear. RIP Danny. He was pivotal to the sound and feel of the best of John Martyn’s albums and those were very special.
They’ll be reunited and jamming up there (down there?
) tonight.
I am saddened by this news. I had the very good fortune to work alongside Danny in a local authority project based in Southend-on-Sea, providing young adults with additional needs to access music making. It is a memory that I will always cherish. It goes without saying that Danny was a master musician but he was also a top man. A truly humble man who lived music. Wek kept in touch when the project concluded. Farewell sweet Danny. You were one of the best in every way,
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