Barbara Thompson

Barbara Gracey Thompson MBE (27 July 1944 – 9 July 2022) was an English jazz saxophonist, flautist and composer. She studied clarinet, flute, piano and classical composition at the Royal College of Music, but the music of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane made her shift her interests to jazz and saxophone. She was married to drummer Jon Hiseman of Colosseum from 1967 until his death in 2018. Around 1970, Thompson was part of Neil Ardley's New Jazz Orchestra and appeared on albums by Colosseum. Beginning in 1975, she was involved in the foundation of three bands: United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, a "band of bandleaders" with Wolfgang Dauner (p), Volker Kriegel (g), Albert Mangelsdorff (tb), Eberhard Weber (b), Ian Carr (tp), Charlie Mariano (sax), Ack van Rooyen (tp) and Jon Hiseman (dr). Barbara Thompson's Jubiaba (9-piece Latin/rock band) including Peter Lemer, Roy Babbington, Henry Lowther, Ian Hamer, Derek Wadsworth, Trevor Tomkins, Bill Le Sage, Glyn Thomas. Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia, a band with Peter Lemer (p), Billy Thompson (v), Dave Ball (b) and Jon Hiseman on drums. She was awarded the MBE in 1996 for services to music. Due to Parkinson's disease, which was diagnosed in 1997, she retired as an active saxophonist in 2001 with a farewell tour. After a period of working as a composer exclusively, she returned to the stage in 2003 for a tour with Colosseum. After she was hospitalised with atrial fibrillation, her attendance in an accident and emergency department was featured in an episode of the Channel 4 fly-on-the-wall television documentary 24 Hours in A&E in October 2020. Thompson worked closely with Andrew Lloyd Webber on musicals such as Cats and Starlight Express, his Requiem, and Lloyd Webber's 1978 classical-fusion album Variations. She wrote several classical compositions, music for film and television, a musical of her own and songs for the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia and her big band Moving Parts. She was a regular, along with her husband drummer Jon Hiseman and bassist David "Dill" Katz in the underground "Cellar Bar" at South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell during the late 1970s and 1980s. She played the incidental music in the ITV police series A Touch of Frost, starring David Jason. She also played flute on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Thompson was married to Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman, from 1967 until his death in June 2018. The couple's son Marcus was born in 1972, and their daughter Anna (now known as singer/songwriter Ana Gracey) in 1975. An autobiography, Journey to a Destination Unknown, was published in 2020. Thompson died on 9 July 2022, aged 77, after having Parkinson's disease for 25 years. "Barbara Thompson biography". temple-music.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2011. Neil Ardley at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2011. New Jazz Orchestra: Camden '70 – credits at AllMusic Barbara Thompson – credits at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2011. Mathieson, Kenny (April 2001). "British Beat: Saxophonist Barbara Thompson". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 26 December 2001. Retrieved 9 January 2011. United Jazz + Rock Ensemble at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2011. Jubiaba – credits at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2011. Gelly, Dave (1 April 2001). "Her new career starts here". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2022. "Jon Hiseman, rock and jazz drummer – obituary". The Telegraph. 19 June 2018. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 July 2022. Colosseum live at Rockpalast, September 27, 2003 (YouTube) "Barbara Thompson on 24 hours in A&E". Barbara Thompson & Jon Hiseman. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021. "The Show Must Go On". 24 Hours in A&E. Series 22. Episode 6. October 2020. Channel 4. Retrieved 18 February 2021. Pareles, Jon (12 June 2018). "Jon Hiseman, 73, Drummer Who Melded Rock, Jazz and Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2018. Journey To A Destination Unknown: Barbara Thompson MBE: The autobiographical story of her musical life,, Jazz in Britain (2020) "Barbara Thompson, The Grand Dame Of British Jazz, Passed Away". DMME.net. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022. Ewing, Jerry (10 July 2022). "Saxophonist Barbara Thompson dead at 77". LouderSound. Retrieved 15 January 2024. Official site Barbara Thompson discography at Discogs Barbara Thompson at IMDb