Obituary, Barbara Thompson MBE (1944-2022)

The British jazz saxophonist Barbara Thompson, known for her session work, composing and work with jazz-rock/jazz fusion groups from the 1970s and onwards, has passed away at age 77. Originally studying classical saxophone and composition at the Royal College of Music in London, upon hearing the music of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane Thompson quickly changed her focus to jazz, eventually becoming one of the few female bandleaders in the mostly male-dominated field of English jazz in the 1970s. It was during this time she played with the New Jazz Orchestra under Neil Ardley, as well as appearing on a handful of albums by jazz-rock group Colosseum. By the mid-1970s she had been instrumental in the founding of three separate jazz projects; the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble – a self-professed ‘band of bandleaders’ that at different points also included Kenny Wheeler and Eberhard Weber, Barbara Thompson’s Jubiaba, a nine-piece Latin-inspired rock band, and Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia, a quintet that would ultimately be Thompson’s longest-running bandleading project.

Working as a session musician extensively during her long career, you can hear Thompson on the recordings of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats and Starlight Express, and even playing flute on Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds; Thompson’s interest in theatre obviously didn’t stop there either, even writing a musical of her own. Thompson was awarded an MBE for her services to music in 1996, though being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease only a year later she retired from active touring following a farewell tour with the UJRE in 2001 – returning to live playing in 2003 on a tour with Colosseum, though she continued to record music thereafter she would seldom play live. During this time she would compose extensively both for her own projects and commissioned pieces, which included music for BBC Radio 3 inspired by the poetry of Philip Larkin and the incidental music for ITV drama A Touch of Frost.

Thompson was married to the drummer of Colosseum, the late Jon Hiseman, until his death in 2018 – and both her and Hiseman are survived by their children Marcus and Anna, the latter of whom performs as singer-songwriter Ana Gracey.

Some of our favourite Barbara Thompson recordings...

Read our full review of Live at the BBC...