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Jazz saxophonist and flautist Barbara Thompson was born in Oxford, England on July 27, 1944. She was best known for her close association with British jazz rock band Colosseum which featured her husband, drummer Jon Hiseman (1944-2018). Barbara Thompson studied classical composition and saxophone at the Royal College of Music in London but turned to jazz after discovering American saxophonist John Coltrane. She married Jon Hiseman (Colosseum) in 1967 and began making waves in the British jazz community. She joined pianist Neil Ardley’s New Jazz Orchestra in 1970 and by the middle of the decade, she had co-founded several different groups including German collective The United Jazz + Rock Ensemble, Barbara Thompson’s Jubiaba, and Barbra Thompson’s Paraphernalia (which also featured her husband). She also collaborated with several other artists including Colosseum, Rod Argent, The Keef Hartley Band, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Her catalog of recordings include acclaimed solo releases and albums with her various groups including Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia (1978), Wilde Tales (1979), Mother Earth (1982), Pure Fantasy (1984), Heavenly Bodies (1986), Songs from the Center of the Earth (1991), and Breathless (1991). In 1996, Barbara Thompson was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease the following year and added more recordings to Paraphernalia's catalog after retiring from the stage in 2001. Following the death of husband Jon Hiseman on June 12, 2018, she composed material for the album Balletproof (2020), with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra but did not participate in the recording. Barbara Thompson died on July 9, 2022, at the age of 77.
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