Barbara Thompson (musician)

Around 1970, Thompson was part of Neil Ardley's New Jazz Orchestra and appeared on albums by Colosseum. Starting in 1975, she was involved in the foundation of three bands:

• United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, a 'band of bandleaders' with Wolfgang Dauner (p), Volker Kriegel (g), Albert Mangelsdorff (tb), Eberhard Weber (b), Ian Carr (tp), Charlie Mariano (sax), Ack van Rooyen (tp) and Jon Hiseman (dr).
• Barbara Thompson's Jubiaba (9 piece Latin/rock band) including Peter Lemer, Roy Babbington, Henry Lowther, Ian Hamer, Derek Wadsworth, Trevor Tomkins, Bill Le Sage, Glyn Thomas.
• Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia, her current working band with Peter Lemer (p), Billy Thompson (v), Dave Ball (b) and Jon Hiseman on drums.

She was awarded the MBE in 1996 for services to music. Due to Parkinson's disease 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 to replace the unwell Dick Heckstall-Smith during Colosseum's "Tomorrow's Blues" tour, and in 2005 she performed live with Paraphernalia in their "Never Say Goodbye" tour. Since 2004 she has been a permanent member of Colosseum.

Thompson has worked closely with Andrew Lloyd Webber on musicals such as Cats and Starlight Express and on his Requiem. She has written several classical compositions, music for film and television, a musical of her own and songs for the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia and her big band Moving Parts.

She played the incidental music in the popular ITV police series A Touch of Frost starring David Jason. She also played flute on Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

Since 1967, Thompson has been married to Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman. Their son Marcus was born in 1972, and their daughter Anna (now known as singer/songwriter Ana Gracey) in 1975.