Barbara Thompson - Songs From The Center Of The Earth (1990)

Songs from the Center of the Earth is a solo recording by veteran British jazz saxophonist, composer, and band leader, Barbara Thompson. On Songs from the Center of the Earth, the rich yet plaintive sounds of Thompson's saxophones seem to ring through the mists of time. Her compelling solo improvisations on ancient melodies were recorded over two hot summer nights in August 1990 at the historic Abbey du Thoronet in Var, Provence, France. "I have long thought that folk songs lie dormant at the center of us until recognition is triggered by an experience," she says. "As the Abbey dates back to medieval times, I thought it fitting to play traditional church and folk pieces from all over the world, some of which are older than the Abbey itself."

The warm, resonant setting enhances Thompson's updated interpretations of Irish airs, twelth century Crusade chants, Syrian love ballads, ancient Spanish cradle songs, and folk melodies from Greece, Germany, Jamaica, Brazil, and Uruguay. Performing on soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, Thompson draws on her extensive jazz background to embellish this music with expressive pitch bends and glissandos that bring these age-old tunes firmly into the twentieth century. Sometimes gently reminiscent, sometimes powerful in their evocation of timeless emotions, Thompson's masterful improvisations provide an eloquent commentary on the past.

About the Artist:

Barbara Thompson was born in Oxford in 1944 and educated at Queen's College, Harley Street, London, and the Royal College of Music, where she studied clarinet, piano, flute and composition. Whilst retaining a strong interest in classical music, Barbara was captivated by the jazz work of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane and developed a consuming passion for the saxophone.

She formed her own group Paraphernalia in 1977, and it is still one of the major instrumental attractions on the European concert scene. Barbara's original and inventive compositions and soaring saxophone and flute improvisations have earned her international acclaim, while the originality of the music has appealed to a far wider audience than merely contemporary jazz buffs.

In 1996, Barbara was awarded the M.B.E. for services to music as a musician and composer. Following her diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease in 1977, Barbara decided that - as her live appearances became curtailed - she would concentrate on her concert music composing career.

In 2006, Celestial Harmonies released Barbara Thompson: Three Quartets, featuring the Apollo Saxophone Quartet.