SIR CHARLES THOMPSON (pianist, organist, composer, arranger) was born Charles Phillip Thompson March 21, 1918 in Springfield, Ohio. Thompson’s nickname “Sir” was given to him by saxophonist Lester Young. The swing and bebop era pianist performed with Bennie Moten, Count Basie and Coleman Hawkins and recorded with Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon in the 1940s.