Chris Barber

Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber (born 17 April 1930, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England) is best known as a jazz trombonist.

Early life
He is the son of a statistician father and headmistress mother and was educated at St Paul's School, in London and the Guildhall School of Music.

Music career (1950s and 1960s)
Barber played trombone with Ken Colyer in 1949 and began leading his own bands in which he played trombone and double bass in 1950. Barber helped to create the careers of many diverse musicians, most notably the superb blues singer Ottilie Patterson - who was at one time, Mrs Barber. Others include vocalist and banjo player Lonnie Donegan who rose to his own fame during the skiffle music craze of the mid 1950s. He had his first transatlantic hit during his time in Chris Barber's band with the release of "Rock Island Line".

In addition to Donegan, Barber also featured Pat Halcox on trumpet from 1954 onwards, once Ken Colyer had moved on after a difference of opinion as to the way the band should develop. The band formed in 1953 took Colyer's name as they thought that his recent spell in New Orleans would be an attraction, with Monty Sunshine on clarinet, Donegan, Jim Bray (bass), Ron Bowden (drums) and Barber on trombone. In April, 1953, the band made its public debut in Copenhagen where Chris Albertson recorded several sides for the then new Danish Storyville label, including some with a trio from the band, Sunshine, Donegan and Barber (on bass). Later, back in London, Sunshine and Barber recorded a version of Bechet's "Petite Fleur" that made it to #3 in the UK Singles Chart, spending a total of twenty four weeks therein. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Although the Barber band featured traditional jazz in the New Orleans style, it later also engaged in Ragtime, swing, blues and R&B and worked with other artists including Louis Jordan and Dr. John. After 1959 he toured the United States many times.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Barber was mainly responsible for arranging the first UK tours of seminal blues artists such as Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and Muddy Waters. This, along with encouragement from local enthusiasts such as Alexis Korner and John Mayall, sparked the interest of young local prospective musicians such as Peter Green, Eric Clapton and the members of the The Rolling Stones in the blues, and caused the British blues explosion that in turn resulted in the British invasion exported back to the US in the middle to late 1960s. In January 1963, the British music magazine, NME reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain had taken place at Alexandra Palace. The event included George Melly, Diz Disley, Acker Bilk, Alex Welsh, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer, Sunshine, Bob Wallis, Bruce Turner, Mick Mulligan and Barber.

Originally a six piece band, with a back line of drums, bass and banjo, and a front line of trombone, clarinet and trumpet, Barber stunned the traditionalists in 1964 by including blues guitarist, John Slaughter, into the line up. Apart from a break between April 1978 and August 1986, when Roger Hill took over the spot, John played in the band until shortly before his death in 2010.

Barber then added a second clarinet/saxophone, making it an eight-piece band, and this continued right up until 1999. With a long time love of the Duke Ellington music, Barber added fellow trombonist and arranger Bob Hunt into the line up, along with another clarinet and trumpet. The band is now known as "The Big Chris Barber Band", boasting an eleven man line-up and a broad range of music, still catering for many tastes but also still having a spot in the concert programme for the original traditional, six man line-up.

Also in the early 1960s a recording of the Lennon/McCartney composition "Catswalk" was made. It can be heard, retitled as "Cat Call", on the album The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away. This song was written by Paul McCartney and later given to The Chris Barber Band. The song was recorded in late July 1967 and released as a single in the UK on 20 October 1967.



Recent work
The current line up is Gregor Beck - drums; Dave Green double bass (January 2007); John Slaughter - guitar; Joe Farler - banjo & guitar, forming the rhythm section. Front line Chris Barber, Bob Hunt (after an 18 month break, rejoined January 2010) - trombones; Mike Henry, Pete Rudeforth - trumpets; Zoltan Sagi, David Horniblow and Richard Exall - clarinets, alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax. Recent band members who have moved on: Pat Halcox, trumpeter with the Chris Barber Band since its formation on 31 May 1954, retired after playing his last gig with the Big Chris Barber Band on 16 July 2008. Halcox and Barber were together in the band for 54 years - the longest continuous partnership in the history of jazz, exceeding even that of Duke Ellington and Harry Carney (48 years between 1926 and 1974). Tony Carter (reeds) also left the band at this time.(www.chrisbarber.net)

Vic Pitt - double bass retired in January 2007 after 30 years with the band. His feature duet with the drummers of the day - "Big Noise From Winnetka" was not only a feature of the Barber concerts, but also his time with the Kenny Ball band immediately before.

Many of the band's classic albums from the 1950s and 1960s can be found on the UK's Lake Records label.

At St. Luke's London, on 9 June 2007, Barber appeared in the horn section of Nick Lowe's band during a concert. In 2008, Barber, along with Eric Clapton and others, were involved in a new cooperative record company, Blues Legacy. On 23 July 2009, Barber, Bilk, and Ball played a one-off concert at Indigo2 at The O2 in Greenwich. The concert was presented by The British Music Experience.

The new double CD "Chris Barber - Memories of my trip" will be released in the UK in early 2011. The dates for the supporting tour can be found on the official website as well as on The Big Chris Barber Band's Myspace and Facebook pages.

He performed at De Doelen in Rotterdam on 12 december 2010.

Selected discography

 * Bestsellers: Chris Barber & Papa Blue's Viking Jazzband, 1954
 * Original Copenhagen Concert, (live) 1954
 * Chris Barber in Concert, (live) 1956
 * Chris Barber Plays, Vol. 2, 1956
 * Chris Barber Plays, Vol. 3, 1957
 * Chris Barber Plays, Vol. 4, 1957
 * Chris Barber in Concert, Vol. 2, (live) 1958
 * "Petite Fleur", 1958
 * In Budapest, 1962
 * Louis Jordan Sings, 1962
 * Live in East Berlin, 1968
 * Chris Barber & Lonnie Donegan, 1973
 * Echoes of Ellington, Vol. 1, 1976
 * Echoes of Ellington, Vol. 2, 1976
 * Echoes of Ellington, 1978
 * Take Me Back to New Orleans, 1980
 * Copulatin' Jazz: The Music of Preservation Hall, 1993
 * Live at the BP Studienhaus, 1997
 * Cornbread, Peas & Black Molasses, (live) 1999
 * The Big Chris Barber Band with Special Guest Andy Fairweather Low: As We Like It, 2009
 * Chris Barber's Jazz Band, Chris Barber 1957-58, 2009
 * The Chris Barber Jazz & Blues Band, Barbican Blues, 2009
 * The Big Chris Barber Band, Barber At Blenheim, 2009
 * Chris Barber's Jazz Band with Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Sonny, Brownie & Chris, 2009
 * Chris Barber Memories Of My Trip, 2011