Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber (born 17 April 1930,
Welwyn Garden City,
Hertfordshire,
England) is best known as a jazz
trombonist. As well as scoring a UK top twenty
trad jazz hit he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer
Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and vocalist/
banjoist Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with Barber triggered the
skiffle craze of the mid 1950s and who had his first transatlantic hit, "
Rock Island Line", while with Chris Barber's band. His providing an audience for Donegan and, later,
Alexis Korner makes Barber a significant figure in the British
rhythm and blues and "
Beat boom" of the 1960s.
Biography
Early life
The son of a
statistician father and
headmistress mother, Barber was educated at
St Paul's School in
London and the
Guildhall School of Music.
Music career (1950s and 1960s)
Barber and
Monty Sunshine (
clarinet) formed a band in 1953, calling it
Ken Colyer's Jazzmen to capitalise on their trumpeter's recent escapades in New Orleans: the group also included Donegan, Jim Bray (bass), Ron Bowden (drums) and Barber on trombone. The band played
Dixieland jazz, and later
ragtime,
swing,
blues and
R&B.
Pat Halcox took over on
trumpet in 1954 when Colyer moved on after musical differences and the band became "The Chris Barber Band".
In April 1953 the band made its debut in Copenhagen. There
Chris Albertson recorded several sides for...
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