CHARLES THOMAS JR., 64, of Little Rock, formerly of Memphis, jazz pianist, died of heart failure Tuesday in Little Rock. Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Ruffin & Jarrett Funeral Home in Little Rock. Local services will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Greater Hyde Park Baptist Church with burial at 10 a.m. Tuesday in New Park Cemetery. N. J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home has charge. Mr. Thomas, the husband of Ella Thomas, also leaves a daugher, Sheila Thomas of Memphis; two sons, Gene Rivers of Memphis and Dwayne Thomas of Italy; his father, Rev. C. E. Thomas of Memphis; three sisters, Ruth A. Thomas and Frances Cade, both of Memphis, and Evelyn Johnson of Buffalo, N.Y.; a brother, Harold Thomas of Alexandria, Va., and five grandchildren. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 11/27/1999)
Jazz pianist Charles Thomas, who shunned the spotlight of touring with Duke Ellington's band to play in his home state of Arkansas, died Tuesday of prostate cancer. He was 64. During his career, Thomas headlined numerous jazz festivals and accompanied vocalists such as Tony Bennett. After Ellington's death, the band leader's orchestra asked Thomas to take his place on the piano. But Thomas's tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra didn't last long. Thomas "got tired of being Duke Ellington - he wanted to be Charlie Thomas," said his longtime manager, Jim Porter. So Thomas returned to Arkansas and played at such venues as the Black Orchid in Hot Springs during the 1960s. Thomas's longest running show was at the Atrium Bar at the Holiday Inn in west Little Rock, where he riffed out jazz patterns and improvised versions of pop songs every day from 5 to 9 p.m. and during Sunday brunches. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 11/26/1999)
Click HERE for memorials of other Memphis musicians.
Jazz pianist Charles Thomas, who shunned the spotlight of touring with Duke Ellington's band to play in his home state of Arkansas, died Tuesday of prostate cancer. He was 64. During his career, Thomas headlined numerous jazz festivals and accompanied vocalists such as Tony Bennett. After Ellington's death, the band leader's orchestra asked Thomas to take his place on the piano. But Thomas's tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra didn't last long. Thomas "got tired of being Duke Ellington - he wanted to be Charlie Thomas," said his longtime manager, Jim Porter. So Thomas returned to Arkansas and played at such venues as the Black Orchid in Hot Springs during the 1960s. Thomas's longest running show was at the Atrium Bar at the Holiday Inn in west Little Rock, where he riffed out jazz patterns and improvised versions of pop songs every day from 5 to 9 p.m. and during Sunday brunches. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 11/26/1999)
Click HERE for memorials of other Memphis musicians.
CHARLES THOMAS JR., 64, of Little Rock, formerly of Memphis, jazz pianist, died of heart failure Tuesday in Little Rock. Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Ruffin & Jarrett Funeral Home in Little Rock. Local services will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Greater Hyde Park Baptist Church with burial at 10 a.m. Tuesday in New Park Cemetery. N. J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home has charge. Mr. Thomas, the husband of Ella Thomas, also leaves a daugher, Sheila Thomas of Memphis; two sons, Gene Rivers of Memphis and Dwayne Thomas of Italy; his father, Rev. C. E. Thomas of Memphis; three sisters, Ruth A. Thomas and Frances Cade, both of Memphis, and Evelyn Johnson of Buffalo, N.Y.; a brother, Harold Thomas of Alexandria, Va., and five grandchildren. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 11/27/1999)
Jazz pianist Charles Thomas, who shunned the spotlight of touring with Duke Ellington's band to play in his home state of Arkansas, died Tuesday of prostate cancer. He was 64. During his career, Thomas headlined numerous jazz festivals and accompanied vocalists such as Tony Bennett. After Ellington's death, the band leader's orchestra asked Thomas to take his place on the piano. But Thomas's tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra didn't last long. Thomas "got tired of being Duke Ellington - he wanted to be Charlie Thomas," said his longtime manager, Jim Porter. So Thomas returned to Arkansas and played at such venues as the Black Orchid in Hot Springs during the 1960s. Thomas's longest running show was at the Atrium Bar at the Holiday Inn in west Little Rock, where he riffed out jazz patterns and improvised versions of pop songs every day from 5 to 9 p.m. and during Sunday brunches. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 11/26/1999)
Click HERE for memorials of other Memphis musicians.
Jazz pianist Charles Thomas, who shunned the spotlight of touring with Duke Ellington's band to play in his home state of Arkansas, died Tuesday of prostate cancer. He was 64. During his career, Thomas headlined numerous jazz festivals and accompanied vocalists such as Tony Bennett. After Ellington's death, the band leader's orchestra asked Thomas to take his place on the piano. But Thomas's tour with the Duke Ellington Orchestra didn't last long. Thomas "got tired of being Duke Ellington - he wanted to be Charlie Thomas," said his longtime manager, Jim Porter. So Thomas returned to Arkansas and played at such venues as the Black Orchid in Hot Springs during the 1960s. Thomas's longest running show was at the Atrium Bar at the Holiday Inn in west Little Rock, where he riffed out jazz patterns and improvised versions of pop songs every day from 5 to 9 p.m. and during Sunday brunches. (Published in The Commercial Appeal 11/26/1999)
Click HERE for memorials of other Memphis musicians.
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