Barbara Thompson

As a bandleader and collaborator, British saxophonist and flutist Barbara Thompson was a key contributor to cutting-edge European jazz, jazz-rock, and crossover ensembles. Though classically educated, she was drawn to jazz, and joined Neil Ardley's New Jazz Orchestra. During the 1970s, Thompson joined the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble and formed her own jazz-rock outfit, Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia, mixing Sri Lankan folk tunes, English country music, and modern jazz. After their eponymous 1978 debut, they released a handful of acclaimed recordings in the '80s and '90s, including Wilde Tales, Mother Earth, Lady Saxophone, and Shifting Sands. She also collaborated with Medici Quartet (Barbara Song) and Apollo Quartet (Three Quartets). Three years after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, in 2000 she issued the groundbreaking Thompson's Tangos and Other Soft Dances. Thompson died in 2022.