Barbara Thompson

Live At The BBC REPERTOIRE. CD/DL

Stunning box set chronicles Oxford-born jazz pioneer’s Beeb radio sessions.

At a time when British jazz was an allmale domain, Barbara Thompson was a beacon of hope for female musicians. A virtuosic saxophonist and flautist, and an accomplished composer, she served her apprenticeship in Neil Ardley’s groundbreaking New Jazz Orchestra in the 1960s before launching two bands, the most successful being the popular and longrunning Paraphernalia, that pushed the jazz envelope without sacrificing Thompson’s instinctive lyricism. The group, melding jazz with rock, Latin and even prog flavours, features heavily on this fine 14-CD collection of British radio broadcasts, which spans 1969 to 1989 and includes studio sessions as well as thrilling live concerts. Sadly, Thompson, now 76, no longer performs due to Parkinson’s disease, but this absorbing collection captures her at her brilliant best.