Jazz Articles about Gail Thompson

About Gail Thompson

Book Excerpts

Giant Steps: Diverse Journeys in British Jazz

by David Burke
May 15, 2021

The following is a revised excerpt from “Chapter 3: Full Force Gail" of Giant Steps: Diverse Journeys in British Jazz by David Burke (Desert Hearts, 2021). In the 1980s, a new generation of black British musicians began to reconfigure the country's jazz scene, changing the face -and sound-of what had previously been a largely mono-cultural medium. The Jazz Warriors collective was the proving ground for players such as Courtney Pine, Orphy Robinson, Dennis Rollins, Gary Crosby and ...

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Album Review

Gail Thompson and the Jazz Africa All Nations Big Band: JADU

by Jack Bowers
July 1, 2001

Gail Thompson, a rising young star on the British Jazz scene, founded the Jazz Africa Project about a dozen years ago. From that initiative came the Jazz Africa All Nations Big Band, which has been delighting audiences all over Great Britain ever since. The ensemble gained further recognition at the 1995 Duisburg “Viva la Black!” Festival and ’97 Berlin Jazz Festival before Thompson undertook a visit to the Australian outback, which served as the inspiration for the band’s second album ...