This compilation album issued in 2002 contains seven numbers composed by Barbara Thompson and performed live or in the studio with the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble between 1978 and 1999.
This is one of a series of United Jazz and Rock Ensemble albums showcasing the compositions of individual band members.
Barbara has composed many works for various ensembles, choirs and orchestras. Scores and parts in PDF format and mp3s can be downloaded free at here
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Composed by Barbara Thompson for The Apollo Saxophone Quartet “Jazz rhythms met minimalism in a lyrical embrace. Motifs and patterns intertwined and chased tails in music instantly attractive, but never vacuous. Allied to the music’s ebullience came the phenomenal skill of the Apollo Four. Thompson’s writing made their fingers scamper off their knuckles in search of new swoops and gurgles, or the silkiest transformation from furnace blast to the softest whisper this side of the Milky Way.”Geoff Brown’s review of an April 2003 concert in the London Times
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10 original compositions by Barbara Thompson for 12-piece saxophone orchestra released 16th July 2012. "The wide spectrum of the compositions shows us the dark side of saxophone sound. The performance of this orchestra is perfect on this CD with highest recording quality. It's more than a milestone!" -
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Martyn Hanson writes: What a pleasant surprise that a band that had been going on and off for five decades could come up with such a strong, not to say eclectic, album. Pete Feenstra, for Get Ready to Rock, beautifully sums it up: ‘Given the virtual collapse of the jazz rock and fusion market in the interim period between the band’s original dissolution and their comeback in 1994, the album’s title has an ironic ring about it. On their last studio album Tomorrow’s Blues they traded their former progressive style for a more mature blues feel, but this album has a surprisingly broader sweep.’ Jon reinforced this feeling in an interview just after the release: ‘It’s amazing what appeals to one person is quite different to another. I have people who swear the best track is ‘You Just Don’t Get It’ and why is it so late on the album. Others go for Ana Gracey’s ‘Blues to Music’. I like ‘The Way You Waved Goodbye’. So I hope [there’s] something for everyone.’ This, the final Colosseum studio album featuring master drummer Jon, was released 11 years after Tomorrow’s Blues. Those into Roman numerals would have got the year straightaway, as the cover has the numerals MMXIV = 2014.
