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    Specially produced by Jazz In Britain in partnership with Cure Parkinson’s and Temple Music with all net profits being donated to Cure Parkinson’s. 'First Light' will be released on 2nd June, the day of the memorial concert being held for Barbara Thompson at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. The disc will be launched at the concert, but is available to pre-order for those unable to attend the gig.

    Presented in a replica gatefold card sleeve, the album features three recently discovered, previously un-released, early seventies Barbara Thompson sessions. The earliest session from 1971 features the first ever appearance of Group E and may be one of the very few times that Barbara played with Blue Notes bassist Johnny Dyani. The second session is also interesting in that it’s a fairly big, 12-piece, band including some very famous name soloists and consists of a three-part suite called The Awakening. Featured soloists are Barbara, Don Rendell, Henry Lowther (on violin) and Barbara’s husband Jon Hiseman. The third session is a very early version of the band Jubiaba, recorded nearly 6 years before their first album was released, and again features a superb group of musicians including Trevor Tomkins and Ian Carr.
    All international orders will be shipped by our EU-based partner; this means that EU orders will stay within the Single Market - therefore no Customs import charges for EU customers.
    Jazz In Britain was very fortunate recently to receive a large collection of reel tapes and discover three early seventies Barbara Thompson sessions amongst it, sessions that we don’t believe have been circulated before. We proposed to Barbara’s daughter Ana Gracey that we produce an album using these three sessions as a way of raising extra money for Cure Parkinson’s. The audio fidelity of these sessions reflects the fact that they were recorded on a very low speed tape machine but they presented a wonderful opportunity to create something special to raise funds for the Parkinson’s charity. They’re very interesting sessions nonetheless and well worth hearing. The earliest session from 1971 features the first ever appearance of Group E and may be one of the very few times that Barbara played with Blue Notes bassist Johnny Dyani. The second session is also interesting in that it’s a fairly big, 12-piece, band including some very famous name soloists and consists of a three-part suite called The Awakening. Featured soloists are Barbara, Don Rendell, Henry Lowther (on violin) and Barbara’s husband Jon Hiseman. The third session is a very early version of the band Jubiaba, recorded nearly 6 years before their first album was released, and again features a superb group of musicians including Trevor Tomkins and Ian Carr. Fans will not only be getting some very interesting music but, at the same time, making a donation to the charity which is doing crucial work on the disease from which Barbara Thompson suffered for many years.
  • The autobiographical story of her musical life...

    Publisher: Jazz in Britain

    “I know it's all true, I even know (or knew) many of the people, including the two principal characters, but one thing above all makes this story real to me: I can hear Barbara's voice telling it.”

    Dave Gelly MBE, April 2020
  • Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia with NYJO - OUT NOW!
    Seminal British jazz-rock band Barbara Thompson’s Paraphernalia join forces with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) for a new studio album featuring 10 original compositions from the virtuoso saxophonist, composer and bandleader Barbara Thompson MBE. The line-up includes the remaining able members of Paraphernalia – Pete Lemer on keyboards, Billy Thompson on violin, and Dave ‘Taif’ Ball on bass – who join forces with 17 phenomenal players from the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. “What a lovingly constructed recording. A great tribute to one of the finest drummers ever by one of the best sax players ever – and her family. It matters not a jot that Barbara doesn’t actually play on the album because her creativity runs through the music which is a fitting tribute to two musicians who contributed so valuably to Jazz in general.”
    Mark Ringwood, Radio Broadcaster
  • Barbara Thompson – saxophone; Jon Hiseman – drums; Peter Lemer – keyboards; Billy Thompson – violin; Dave “Taif” Ball – Bass. With guests Shona Brown – Flute; Apollo Saxophone Quartet and Rachel Calaminus – violin and viola. (Barbara's last recording. Released 2015. CD review by Jon Turney) Barbara Thompson has been a luminous presence on the UK and European jazz scene, as composer, player and bandleader, since the 1970s. Against expectation, that presence dimmed only a little following her diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease in 1997. Performance and, I imagine, life in general became more confined. Yet, exploiting windows opened by evolving medication, she makes music still. The results testify that raw determination and refined pharmacology can keep creativity alive under trying circumstances. Her first “farewell” tour was in 2001, and she toured again with Colosseum as recently as last year. And now, a decade after their previous release, here’s a new CD from her own band Paraphernalia. It’s a fine addition to the band’s discography. The sound remains firmly in that corner of English jazz-rock where the energy comes from musical fervour, rather than heavy use of electricity. There is bass guitar, from Dave Ball, and long-standing keyboard partner Peter Lemer does evoke Joe Zawinul here and there. But there’s plenty of unprocessed piano, too, and the continual interplay between the front-liners – Thompson on saxes and Billy Thompson (no relation) on violin – is acoustic exuberance at its best. That sound, especially when Barbara deploys her attractively dry soprano sax while Billy soars and swoops on the violin, is intense, and full of invention, aided by a rich variety of compositions – some sinuous (Straitlaced), some slinky (Saxey, The Smooch), some simply infectious (Spring Fever). There are tenor workouts, too, but marked by the leader’s preference for creating melody rather than dashing through chord changes. Jon Hiseman, who as usual produced the sessions, executes the often complex drum parts with military precision, and the soundscape is broadened by the advent of the Apollo Saxophone quartet on one track, and Shona Brown’s flute on a couple of others. We won’t hear this music live, it seems, and there are a couple of tantalising fades that make one regret that all the more. But still very good to have the recording. It’s a thoroughly attractive CD, one that can brighten your day like an unexpected visit from an old friend.
  • Rhinestone saxophone brooch with concert programme from the Barbara Thompson Memorial Concert. To commemorate Barbara, her remarkable legacy and this historic night at the Union Chapel. Limited numbers remain.

  • “I consider this Paraphernalia video to be an important part of our legacy – there’s something really special about everyone’s contribution.”

    Jon Hiseman, from the 2010 book ‘Playing The Band’ by Martyn Hanson, published by Temple Music

    FIRST SET

    1. Close to the Edge 2. Are You Real 3. Smokey Embrace 4. On the Wings of a Prayer 5. Still Waters 6. Life in the Fast Lane

    SECOND SET

    7. Breathless 8. Son of a Gun 9. Shifting Sands Encores 10. Nightwatch 11. Kafferinya

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