Obituary, Chris Barber (1930-2021)

British trombonist, bassist and bandleader Chris Barber has passed away at the age of 90. Barber made significant contributions to the burgeoning ‘skiffle’ style, as well as the trad jazz revival and even recorded with pop artists like Paul McCartney.

Born in Hertfordshire on 17th April 1930, Barber studied at St Paul’s School in London, after which he moved on to the Guildhall School of Music. Barber’s early career saw him form a band with clarinetist Monty Sunshine and trumpeter Ken Coyler (whom the band was named after), the three being in their early 20s at the time. This band would end up playing their first show in Copenhagen, where they would make their first recordings on the new Storyville label, playing a mixture of traditional jazz styles. The group would eventually become the Chris Barber Band, and later Big Chris Barber Band, following Coyler’s departure, replaced by Pat Halcox. Barber and Halcox would play together in the Chris Barber Band for over 50 years, the longest collaborative partnership in jazz. The band would later venture outside of trad jazz into more contemporary composers like Joe Zawinul and Charles Mingus, reflecting the tastes of the different musicians who passed through the band’s ranks throughout the years.

It was his collaboration with Lonnie Donegan, however, that popularised the style of ‘skiffle’ in British music circles, a scene which would produce later rock figures like Cliff Richard, The Shadows, and Tommy Steele. Even John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison would dabble in the skiffle craze before it ultimately lost its zeitgeist appeal. Barber would later be approached by McCartney to play his piece ‘Cat Call’, which was recorded in 1967 and featured McCartney on the recording itself. Barber held a great admiration for blues musicians, and would personally invite American musicians like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Muddy Waters to tour the UK. One of his tutees, guitarist Alexis Korner, would go on to form his own band Blues Incorporated, which would perform with young members of The Rolling Stones, Cream and Led Zeppelin.

Barber was awarded an OBE for his services to music in 1991. Although the Big Chris Barber Band continued to perform, he retired from music in 2019, and suffered from dementia during his final years. He also published a memoir entitled ‘Jazz Me Blues’ in 2014. He is survived by his two children.

Some of our favourite Chris Barber recordings...