BEAT BOOM

This week’s Phantom Dancer with Greg Poppleton features a 1950s radio broadcast and commercial release by a significant figure in the British rhythm and blues and ‘beat boom’ of the 1960s, trad jazz trombonist and band leader, Chris Barber.

See the full Phantom Dancer play list of swing and jazz mixed by Greg Poppleton from live 1920s-60s radio below.

PHANTOM DANCER

This week’s Phantom Dancer will be online right after the 14 May 2SER live mix at 2ser.com.
Hear the show live every Tuesday 12:04-2pm on 107.3 2SER Sydney

Chris Barber jazz band 1953

BARBER

English trad bandleader and trombonist, who apart from recording UK top 20 trad jazz records, helped the careers of many musicians. These include blues singer Ottilie Patterson who we’ll hear live on the BBC in 1955, Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with Barber triggered the skiffle craze of the mid-1950s and, later, Alexis Korner.

SUNSHINE

Barber and Monty Sunshine (clarinet) formed a band in 1953, calling it Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen to capitalise on their trumpeter’s recent trip to New Orleans.

This band included Donegan, Jim Bray (bass), Ron Bowden (drums) and Barber on trombone. The band played Dixieland jazz, and later ragtime, swing, blues and R&B. Pat Halcox took over on trumpet in 1954 when Colyer moved on after musical differences and the band became “The Chris Barber Band”.

In 1959 the band’s version of Sidney Bechet’s ‘Petite Fleur’, a clarinet solo by Monty Sunshine with Barber on string bass, spent twenty-four weeks in the UK Singles Charts, making it to No. 3 and selling over one million copies. It was awarded a gold disc. After 1959 he toured the United States many times where ‘Petite Fleur’ charted at #5.

Ottile Patterson

BLUES

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Barber was mainly responsible for arranging the first UK tours of blues artists Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Muddy Waters, sparking young musicians such as Peter Green, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. British rhythm and blues powered the British invasion of the USA charts in the 1960s.

Barber stunned traditionalists in 1964 by introducing blues guitarist John Slaughter into the line up.

A recording of the Lennon–McCartney composition “Catswalk” can be heard, retitled “Cat Call”, on The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away. Written by Paul McCartney the song was recorded in late July 1967 and released as a single in the UK on 20 October 1967.

RECENT

In 2014, Barber published his autobiography Jazz Me Blues with co-author Alyn Shipton. Now, at age 89, Chris Barber continues to perform.

VIDEO

This week’s Phantom Dancer video of the week is a half-hout TV show of Chris Barber and band on French TV in 1972. Enjoy!

14 MAY PLAY LIST