Saxophonist: Barbara Thompson Obituary

Barbara Gracey Thompson MBE was a jazz saxophonist from England. She studied classical composition and saxophone at the Royal College of Music.

However,  the music of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane influenced her to focus on jazz and saxophone.

She was married to Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman from 1967 until he died in 2018.

Thompson died on July 9, 2022, following a 25-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Thompson was a member of Neil Ardley’s New Jazz Orchestra around 1970 and appeared on Colosseum albums.

She was a founding member of three bands beginning in 1975: United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, Barbara Thompson’s Jubiaba, and Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia, her most recent band.

In 1996, she was awarded the MBE for music services. She retired as an active saxophonist in 2001 with a farewell tour due to Parkinson’s disease, which she was diagnosed with in 1997. In 2003, she returned to the stage after working solely as a composer.