Personnel
Barbara Thompson (tenor alto soprano flute ldr); Colin Dudman (keyboards); Harold Fisher (drms percussion); Roy Babbington (electric bs)

Tracks
Goodtyme Mr. Sam * Study to be Quiet * La Tranquillite D’ame * Spanish Memories * Sicilian String * Next Spring * Temple Song * Stairways.

Originally released on MCA in 1978 October of that year - Digitally re-mastered - Ross Landau - All songs written by Barbara Thompson, except Study to be Quiet, which is by keyboard player - Colin Dudman.

Has Alchemy Entertainment of Chingford taken a chance in sending this Paraphernalia CD of saxophonist Barbara Thompson to KJR for review?

The percussion introduction movements with a fine keyboard break in it by Harold Fisher on Goodtyme Mr. Sam are worthy of note, as they embrace all that is called upon them to fulfil comprehensive accompaniment to this multi-instrumentalist lady saxophonist, Barbara Thompson, who, covers some fine flute parts in her ownership of, and on seven of the eight tracks in this her album entitled - Paraphernalia.

The CD booklet includes newspaper cuttings of the period by Graham Smith of her Folkestone Arts Centre concert, and some personal info about herself, Barbara Thompson, by Gavin Petrie, inclusive of how she studied at the Royal College of Music for a spell, and, that she played a four month stretch with the Ivy Benson All-Girls Band, which takes me back to the time when the Benson band played the Cumberland Hotel, Lyons Corner House, when it seated the first 1,000 patrons in Europe for a New Year’s Eve dinner party. Those were the days my friends - they all went well as I can well remember them!

Today, I’ll go straight to the Barbara Thompson Stairways tune, where her opening chorus in it on tenor saxophone is really, really beautiful, and it is so delightful to listen to.

Alas, the end piece of this endearing tune, Barbara has either gone back to the music classroom to show off that she can play every note of her instrument proficiently, or has copied from the Bebop school, searching for screeches and honks, tripping in back-spins over a step at the top of her 'stairway' which simply is not there, with backslide stumbles at the bottom of her 'stairway' all with effort to try and reach an invisible cellar step, which also is not constructional to a 'stairway' in order to try and sound out notes of the piccolo at the top end of her tenor range, and double bass notes at the bottom end of her tenor scale, neither of which are tuneful to her instrument if fallen upon.

But that’s Modern jazz for you. Nonetheless, I’ll say with all sincerity, that someday I hope that it, and our Traditional jazz in the UK will someday both surpass Pop music at the top of the ratings charts.

If mellowed, and if she has kept her lip in to good effect since when these tunes were first recorded, to achieve the goal in the previous paragraph, it surely will need the musical talents and skills of someone like tenor lady Barbara Thompson to do it.

As I see it, her intuitive renderings in relationship of her other five tunes exclusive of the opening one come from the depth of feelings of womanhood and how she would have personally perceived them. Such creativeness is the making of this her very fine album - Paraphernalia.

Ian King
Kings Jazz Review
May Bank Holiday Monday the 5th of May 2003