Bob Thompson (6)

US jazz pianist, composer. Born 1942, Jamaica, Queens, NY Part of West Virginia based bands Modern Jazz Interpreters and Joi (10). Inducted, 2015, West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. After some independent releases, he signed to Capitol Records subsidiary Intima and later to the Ichiban label. Two of his albums climbed into the Top 25 in Billboard’s contemporary jazz chart while four of his releases made their way into the Top 10 on the Radio and Records jazz chart. Those nationally released works furthered his reputation significantly. In the meantime, he performed in Brazil, South Africa and Scandinavia. Appearances on BET, as the house pianist on the NPR show Mountain Stage, and several tours abroad have made Thompson a visible presence in the jazz world for more than 40 years. In addition, for the past decade Thompson’s annual holiday jazz show Joy to the World has become a regular feature of Public Radio International’s holiday programming.