[Dixielandjazz] More on Chris

[Steve Voce]

This piece is from the current Jazz Journal on lne.

Steve

Steve Voce writes:

Unlike Kid Ory or Jim Robinson, Chris Barber studied music at the 
Guildhall, which gave him an advantage. He bought his first trombone 
second-hand for six pounds ten shillings from a hard-up Harry Brown.

My memory of first hearing a Barber band would be that it was in 1949, 
but the reference books suggest it must have been 1950.Whenever it was, 
there were two trumpets – were they Dickie Hawden and Ben Cohen? And 
Alex Revell was on clarinet. The music was far more wide-ranging than it 
later became, and I remember particularly a wonderful version of Makin’ 
Friends with the Teagarden speciality featuring Chris’s trombone. That 
band played with a unique spirit and fervour, and was particularly 
notable for its musicality. I always missed the spirit of the 
free-sounding first band.

In between that band and the Halcox/Sunshine group, of course, came the 
Ken Colyer band. Ken’s taciturn lack of an ability to communicate was 
compensated for by his immensely voluble brother, also in the band and 
who, in the manner of a ventriloquist, did Ken’s talking and rivalled 
Beryl Bryden if not in size then in bad washboard playing.

As a merchant seaman Colyer jumped ship at New Orleans in 1952, and 
played with George Lewis and other local black musicians. Since such 
black and white fraternisation was illegal in the Crescent City, all the 
musicians were in danger of trouble with the law. When the law decided 
to deport Colyer back to England, Chris Barber magnanimously agreed to 
hand his band (with Monty Sunshine and Lonnie Donegan) over to appear 
under Colyer’s apparent leadership, with Chris holding the reins behind 
the scene.

Colyer, who had a huge opinion of his own talent, decided to sack 
bassist Jim Bray because he didn’t swing, Lonnie Donegan because he 
couldn’t stand him (“Nobody can stand Lonnie Donegan,” Chris pointed 
out), and drummer Ron Bowden because he was “too modern.”

Chris reminded Colyer that the band, which was a co-operative, had 
trouble putting up with Ken’s drinking and fired him instead. The band 
became the Chris Barber Band, Pat Halcox joined and Chris vowed never to 
hire drunks and to always pay his sidemen well. The formula established 
the band for the next 70 years, and, unusually, he experimented at 
length with electric instruments within the boundaries of the music that 
he loved and saxophones gained a regular presence in the line-up. 
Despite this liberal thought, he nearly always used a banjo. I was 
prejudiced in this regard, because the banjo worked on me like a 
crucifix does on a vampire, and its constant presence held back forever 
my full appreciation of this otherwise excellent band.

Barber bands were always very musical, and Chris was an outstanding 
player who was never called on to work at the limits of his formidable 
technique.

Now the time has come for Chris to hang up his horn. A bad fall at the 
beginning of the year in which he broke his hip and needed a 
replacement, really signalled the end of his career – he’s spent the 
intervening time in hospital, and Kate, his wife, says that he has now 
fully retired.

Fully trained as a classical player, Chris had all the attributes and 
his fervour and intelligence coupled to a remarkable and pretty original 
instinct for jazz, led him through a colourful career. He earned enough 
money to be able to choose to bring over from the States great musicians 
like altoist Louis Jordan and a host of singers. His band’s popularity 
is apparently even greater across Europe than it is here.

> landnet.com 


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