Listen To:


Selected MP3s of guitar instrumentals, jazz, big band, and classic easy listening from the original vinyl.

Welcome to Guitars & All That Jazz

Welcome to Guitars & All That Jazz

Guitars & All That Jazz was a radio station that webcast via Live365 for 11 years, ending in June 2011. The playlist consisted of guitar instrumentals, jazz, big band, early rock 'n' roll, lounge music and classic easy listening.

I hope to share some of this music with you via this blog. Most of it will be taken from the original vinyl (LPs and 45s) , cassettes and the occasional commercially unavailable CD.

Here's hoping you'll find something to enjoy. Please note files are available only for a limited time.

I urge you to purchase the digital version of the albums featured, either on CD or via download, wherever possible.

Listen to the Music
There are now two music streams. Click the appropriate player to the right.
1. Guitars & All That Jazz: Five hours of the best in jazz, guitars and other instrumental gems. New songs are added weekly.
2. Tiki Shores: Music to sweep you away to a tropical isle, a South American dance floor or a bossa nova on the beach at Rio. About 4.5 hours of classic exotica music, Latin rhythms and bossa nova.
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Monday, July 09, 2012

Chris Barber's Jazz Band - Wild Cat Blues



Chris Barber was the man who spearheaded the British trad jazz movement (its American equivalent was the revival of interest in Dixieland jazz), beginning in the late 1950s.

Barber's Jazz Band had a worldwide hit in 1958 with Petite Fleur, an update of a much earlier recording by clarinetist Sidney Bechet. The new recording spotlighted Monty Sunshine on clarinet.

On the flip side of Petite Fleur was Wild Cat Blues, a traditional jazz tune written by Clarence Williams and Fats Waller. Sunshine is again featured on clarinet, while Barber puts his normal instrument, the trombone, aside to play the upright bass. Lonnie Donegan, who was backed by the Barber band on his hit recording of Rock Island Line several years earlier, plays banjo. The MP3 is taken from vinyl.

Wild Cat Blues

A plethora of Chris Barber's recordings, including Petite Fleur and Wild Cat Blues, is available via downloads from numerous sources. Best bet on CD for Barber's classic recordings from 1956-58 is The Pye Jazz Anthology. It's out of print but copies are still available in the Amazon Marketplace and elsewhere.

From a Berlin concert in 2011, Barber and the band perform Wild Cat Blues. Barber begins on the upright bass, the instrument he played on the original recording, then switches to trombone. He was 81 years old when this concert took place.


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