British trombonist Chris Barber is into his 65th year as a bandleader (in 2014), fronting the Big Chris Barber Band on a U.K. and European tour.
In 1953, along with clarinetist Monty Sunshine and vocalist and guitarist Lonnie Donegan, Barber joined forces with trumpeter Ken Colyer in Ken Colyer's Jazzmen. This group, minus Colyer, morphed a year later into Chris Barber's Jazz Band, one of the driving forces behind the "trad jazz" movement in the U.K.
Over the years blues became an important part of Barber's repertoire and the group evolved into the eight-member Chris Barber Blues and Jazz Band. In 2001 three more musicians were added to form the Big Chris Barber Band.
The one Barber record everyone remembers is Petite Fleur, featuring Sunshine's clarinet. This version of a Sidney Bechet composition was a worldwide hit in 1959. The followup single also dipped into the Bechet catalogue for Lonesome (Si Tu Vois Ma Mère [If You See My Mother]), again with Sunshine in the solo spotlight. The MP3 is taken from the original single.
Lonesome
There is a bewildering array of digital releases from Barber's catalogue, with almost all his recordings for Pye and Columbia in the U.K. being available in some form. If you can, sample any downloads before purchasing.
Here's a recording made shortly after the Chris Barber Jazz Band formed in 1953. The personnel is Barber, Sunshine, Donegan, Pat Halcox on trumpet, Jim Bray on bass and Ron Bowden, drums.
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