Chris Barber, one of the greatest figures in the history of British jazz – obituary
He led the Trad revival in the Fifties and his embrace of skiffle and the blues laid the trail for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones
Chris Barber (1970s): he could do whatever he liked, whenever he liked
Credit: David Redfern
Chris Barber, who has died aged 90, led the world’s most popular and longest-lived traditional jazz band. The unflagging appetite for its music, especially among British and north European audiences, defied every conventional tenet of the entertainment business.
Barber’s enduring success was due partly to his astuteness in broadening his style and adapting judiciously to changing times. These innovations were often ahead of fashion and always the sincere product of his own wide-ranging enthusiasms. It is perfectly feasible to claim that neither the Beatles nor the Rolling Stones would have come into existence had it not been for Chris Barber.
Last modified on Tue 2 Mar 2021 12.19 EST
Chris Barber, the British trombonist, double bassist and trad jazz bandleader who influenced the path of mid-century pop, has died aged 90. He had dementia. His death was confirmed by his UK press representative.
Born in Hertfordshire and taught music at London’s Guildhall School, Barber was a champion of trad jazz, the raucous New Orleans style that had waned by the early 1950s as bebop became more fashionable. He helped to reignite the style’s popularity, and became known as one of the Three B’s, alongside Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk, who also separately revived trad jazz.
The trombonist, double bassist and trad jazz bandleader was a major influence on mid-century pop music.
The musician was one of the Three Bs along with Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball who led the Trad revival of the 1950s and 1960s, whose R&B and skiffle sounds inspired The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton in the guitar-pop revolution of the 1960s.
British jazz legend and trombonist Chris Barber has died aged 90 after a battle with dementia
The trombonist, double bassist and trad jazz bandleader was a major influence on mid-century pop music
A number of famous figures in British music including Billy Bragg, Sir Tim Rice and Gary Kemp have paid tribute to Barber
The Animals, died Friday. He was 77.
Commenting on his death, Animals singer
Eric Burdon says, “The opening opus of House of the Rising Sun will never sound the same!… You didn’t just play it, you lived it! Heartbroken by the sudden news of Hilton’s passing. We had great times together, Geordie lad. From the North Shields to the entire world…Rock In Peace.”
Learning to play guitar at 13, he told
Modern Guitars in 2006 that
Lonnie Donegan doing Rock Island Line on television drew him to the guitar. That and hearing
Chuck Berry and seeing him do the duck walk.