Last week I posted about Dutch jazz saxophonist Candy Dulfer and it put me in mind of our very own virtuoso of the sax, Barbara Thompson and so today we will sample her music which although played on the same instrument is very different in texture to that of Dulfer. Barbara was born in Oxford and educated at Queen’s College, Harley Street, London and the Royal College of Music, where she studied clarinet, piano, flute and composition. Whilst retaining a strong interest in classical music, Barbara was captivated by the jazz work of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane and developed a consuming passion for the saxophone. She formed her own group Paraphernalia in 1977. The band , still touring and recording despite Barbara being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1997, became one of the major instrumental attractions on the European concert scene.
Barbara’s original and inventive compositions and soaring saxophone and flute improvisations, have earned her international acclaim, while the originality of the music has appealed to a wider audience than solely contemporary jazz buffs. Songs From The Centre of the Earth – album featuring solo saxophone recorded in the medieval Abbeye du Thoronet in Provence. Subsequently used for the main title theme of “A Touch of Frost”, one of the most popular TV series in the UK.
“Breathless”, Paraphernalia’s 7th album climbed to no.4 in the German CD Jazz Charts. “Moving Parts” Barbara Thompson’s 19 piece big band including musicians such as Derek Nash, Dave O’ Higgins, Nigel Hitchcock, Scott Garland, Mark Nightingale, Noel Langley and members of “Paraphernalia” The band performed at festivals in Freiburg, Folkestone, and the Bristol Harbour Festival, where she was commissioned to write the Bristol Harbour Suite. In July, 1992, the band was featured on BBC Radio Two’s Jazz Parade.
The Medici String Quartet first met Barbara in August 1993, when she played soprano sax with them on a recording of her composition “les Barricades Mysterieuses” for an album produced by George Martin released Sep 95 on the Classic FM label. Subsequently they had a three year collaboration making another album ‘Barbara Song’ released on the Virgin classics label and were featured on ‘Love Songs in Age’ commissioned by Radio 3 and broadcast live from the Queen Elizabeth hall in 1995.
Barbara has excelled as a composer not just of popular music or contemporary jazz but some serious music as well. There are some notable pieces including quartets and a concerto for 3 saxophones. In 1996 shw awarded the MBE 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.
