Chris Barber

Chris Barber is almost certainly the UK’s most famous trombonist. He has been a bandleader since 1953, scoring a million-seller hit in 1959 with a version of Sidney Bechet’s ‘Petite Fleur’. Barber was born in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, and studied at the Guildhall School of Music. He played in various bands around London, including with Cy Laurie, in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The Chris Barber Band grew out of Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen, following Colyer’s departure in 1954, and featured a stellar line-up: Monty Sunshine on clarinet, Jim Bray on bass, Pat Halcox on trumpet, Ron Bowden on drums, and Lonnie Donegan on banjo and vocals. Another early member was Lonnie Donegan, who sang and played banjo in the band. Together, they recorded ‘Rock Island Line’, which became a top then hit in 1955, launching a skiffle craze in the UK and Donegan’s solo career. In 1959, the Barber band released ‘Petite Fleur’, which hit number 3 in the UK charts, and number 5 in the US charts, leading to an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Along with the groups led by Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk, and Humprey Lyttelton, Barber’s band were among the most successful bands of the ‘Trad Boom’ of the 1950s.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Barber organised the first UK tours of numerous legendary blues artists including Muddy Waters and Big Bill Broonzy – concerts which would go on to have a huge influence on the burgeoning rhythm and blues careers of the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, John Mayall and others. Barber’s bands have always been more eclectic in their repertoire than many traditional jazz bands happily incorporating other genres into their sets. Blues singer (and Barber’s wife from 1959 to 1983) Ottilie Patterson was a featured performer for many years.

Although from the mid-1960s, trad jazz no longer held a place in the mainstream popular culture, the Barber band toured the UK and Europe frequently, and released many live albums of a high standard, often recorded in Germany, where they were still able to attract big audiences. Pat Halcox retired from the band in 2008, after a musical partnership of 54 years, guitarist John Slaughter (another long-standing associate) retired in 2010, while Barber himself announced his retirement at the age of 89, in 2019.

Recommended Recordings:
The Original Jazz Recordings 1951-1957 (Smith&Co 2007)
Chris Barber At The BBC with Joe Harriott (United States of Distribution 2000)
Take Me Back To New Orleans (Black Lion 1980) with Dr John