As with many youngsters. Jimmy’s first contact with music was when he joined a Brass Band at an early age. His instrument was the Eb Tenor Horn which he still played when he joined the R.A.F. for National Service. He was a keen member of the station band but his interest had been drawn to the clarinet which he began to study seriously, gradually adding other members of the reed family.He began to make his living with the bands from the local ballrooms eventually establishing himself in Blackpool where he played during the summer seasons with the Ken Macintosh Big Band for many years and with the Eric Delaney Band. He has also graced the stands of Joe Loss and Cyril Stapleton and became a well-known face at the famous Tower Ballroom. For much of this time he taught at local colleges before taking early retirement and becoming even more involved with the jazz scene throughout the British Isles.
Considered by many to be one of the finest reed players in the North West Jimmy is a highly versatile musician who can play the sax and clarinet equally well across a variety of jazz styles. His tenor saxophone solos reflect his love of the playing of Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. Hence, he is in great demand to perform at Jazz Festivals throughout the country and in the Isle of Man, first visiting the island in the early 1970s.
Fred Shawcross, drummer/leader of the Jeriatric Jazz Group and columnist with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, described Jimmy as a wonderfully inventive tenor sax soloist.” Another jazz critic has written about one of his performances: “On a varied series of numbers culled from all points of the jazz compass, he displayed the superb technique and the startling originality of ideas which we have by now come to associate with him.’ Elsewhere none other than the late and great trumpet player, Kenny Baker. commented: “another musician I have always enjoyed is Jimmy Thompson. “Professional down to his toes, quiet and self-effacing but he can play absolutely anything required. ‘With Jim in the section nothing can go wrong."