Tributes paid to jazz giant Chris Barber
One of the leading figures in British and European jazz, the trombonist Chris Barber, died at the age of 90 on Tuesday.
A champion of trad jazz, he also laid the foundations for the 1960s rock scene by covering Leadbelly’s Rock Island Line with Lonnie Donegan in 1954.
The song sold a million copies and popularised the British skiffle scene that inspired the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton.
He died peacefully in his sleep after suffering with dementia.
“Without a doubt, he transformed the music scene in the UK and unlocked the door for a new generation of musical adventurers who in turn, continue to inspire,” his record label, The Last Music Company, wrote on Facebook.
“We will never see his like again.” Lyricist Tim Rice also paid tribute, acknowledging Barber’s “formidable influence” and calling him a “star player”.
The E Street Band’s Steve Van Zandt called him “the Godfather of British Rock”, while Billy Bragg reflected on his “crucial” role in “the birth of the skiffle” and in bringing “US blues artists to British audiences in the 1950s & 1960s”.
Comedian and skiffle historian Mark Lamarr added: “I knew him well and would often visit him at his home. You couldn’t wish to meet a kinder, considerate, intelligent and above all musical gentlemen.”
Born in 1930 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Barber’s interest in trad jazz — the hot and vibrant New Orleans sound — began after he was evacuated during the Second World War and started collecting American records.
He formed his first band after the war in London, while studying trombone and double-bass at the Guildhall School of Music.
Joined by trumpeter Ken Colyer in 1953, they had a minor hit with The Isle Of Capri — but the partnership soon floundered, and Colyer was replaced by Pat Halcox, who remained Barber’s musical partner for 54 years.
Rock Island Line emerged during the band’s live shows, where banjo player Lonnie Donegan would play skiffle interludes between the main sets. They recorded their cover in 1954, and a year later it unexpectedly became one of the mostrequested records on BBC radio, leading to a single release on Decca.
“For teenage Britain, it was the most influential record of the decade,” Bob Stanley wrote in his history of British pop, Yeah Yeah Yeah. “When British teens realised they could make it onto the radio by mastering a broomstick and a kazoo, the revolution commenced.”
“Without Chris Barber,” Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman later observed, “the Stones and The Beatles would not be where they are now”.
Paul McCartney repaid the favour by giving Barber an unused Beatles song, Cat Call, in 1967, and playing organ on the track. The Chris Barber Band’s biggest hit was 1959’s Petite Fleur, which showcased a laid-back but heartfelt clarinet solo by Monty Sunshine. It sold more than 2,5 million copies and propelled the band to international stage, with Barber becoming known as “the man who brought Trad back to America”.
He went on to perform more than 15 000 concerts in 50 different countries and, in the 1950s and 1960s, brought some of America’s most influential blues musicians over to the UK — including Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
He is survived by his fourth wife Kate, and two children, Christopher Jr and Caroline, from his marriage to Renata Hilbich. — BBC Online