At 77 years old
Jazz saxophonist Barbara Thompson dies
Barbara Thompson is dead. The British jazz saxophonist died at the age of 77. Photo: Rolf Haid/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
She worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber and was awarded a medal by the British royal family. Barbara Thompson had been battling Parkinson’s since the 1990s.
The British jazz saxophonist Barbara Thompson is dead. The musician died on Saturday at the age of 77, a member of her recording studio Temple Music Records told the German Press Agency.
Thompson was married to Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman, who died in 2018. The couple have two children. In 1997, Thompson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
The musician became known in the 1970s and played with Manfred Mann, among others. In 1978 she met the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and worked with him on his musicals “Cats” and “Starlight Express”. In 1996 she was awarded a medal by the British royal family for her services to music.
“My mother had the most extraordinary spirit – she never gave up, but her body finally let her down after a valiant 25+ year battle with Parkinson’s and complications with her heart towards the end,” wrote Thompson’s daughter, Ana Gracey. “We very much hope that she and our father have found each other again.”