Barbara Thompson

“Barbara Thompson writes and performs for the saxophone like no other. With love and unwavering respect, she cherishes the instrument when needed, challenges and pushes it beyond boundaries and shows us that in the right hands, the saxophone really is truly magnificent.”
Fiona Ross, Jazz in Europe, 2019

“For the best part of 35 years, her distinctive saxophone and flute style – warm, open, immensely accomplished but never flashy – has been a constant presence. Jazz fashions and ideologies have come and gone but Barbara has just blithely carried on being Barbara, always herself, always contemporary.”
The Observer Review, Dave Gelly MBE, 1 April 2001

“Barbara Thompson is not only a tenor sax specialist; she also has one of the strongest sounds around.”
Phil Johnson, The Independent, Monday, 7 December 1992

“Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia…one of the most popular touring bands in Britain, their unique sound has been lauded in the music press. Jazz Warrior Barbara’s brilliant performances on saxophone and flute, together with Jon Hiseman’s driving percussion and drumming has gained their own jazz cult following.”
The Guardian, 8 May 1987

Barbara Thompson MBE is a virtuoso saxophonist, composer and bandleader whose career has spanned five decades.

Despite her battle with Parkinson’s Disease, Barbara’s vast career has seen her perform, compose and lead on many projects including The New Jazz Orchestra, The United Jazz & Rock Ensemble, Jubiaba, Paraphernalia, Andrew Lloyd-Webber productions and Colosseum. She is considered a pioneering composer for the saxophone and was part of a luxuriant crop of new jazz composers in the 1960s: Mike Westbrook, Neil Ardley, Graham Collier, Mike Taylor, Michael Garrick and several more. Within a few years, Barbara would be among the most eminent of them, and by far the most prolific.

It is with great pleasure that Repertoire Records announce the release of LIVE AT THE BBC, a mammoth FOURTEEN CD box set celebrating the music of the great Barbara Thompson MBE.

The release of LIVE AT THE BBC ushers in a particularly active period for Barbara Thompson; not only is her much-anticipated autobiography due to be published soon via Jazz In Britain, but there is also a new album due for release featuring the remaining able players of Paraphernalia and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO).