Alan Barnes (musician)
Encyclopedia
Alan Barnes is an English Jazz
musician.
between 1977–80 where he studied saxophone, woodwinds and arranging before moving to London. In 1980 he played with the Midnight Follies Orchestra and the following year was with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra
, touring Europe until 1983. In that year he left to join the hard-bop band of Tommy Chase where he attracted attention on the UK jazz scene for the first time. He left Chase in 1986 to co-lead The Jazz Renegades with rock drummer Steve White with whom he recorded four albums.
In 1985 he recorded his first record date as co-leader with Tommy Whittle
– Straight Eight and as leader of his own quartet in 1987– Affiliation with pianist David Newton, an association that goes back to their days at Leeds College of Music
. In 1988 Barnesn was asked to fill the chair recently vacated by Bruce Turner
in the Humphrey Lyttelton
band where he stayed until 1992. Between 1987–97 he also led the Pizza Express
Modern Jazz Sextet with Gerard Presencer
and Dave O’Higgins. After leaving the Lyttelton
band, he concentrated on a freelance career. In 1993 he recorded again with Newton resulting in the duo album Like Minds and the quartet, quintet and sextet album Thirsty Work, which featured fellow reedmen Andy Panayi
and Iain Dixon. Throughout the 90s he co-led a quintet with be-bop trumpeter Bruce Adams, recording two CDs Side- Stepping and Lets Face the Music.
During 1997–99, Barnes began to record a large number of sessions with pianist Brian Lemon
on the Zephyr label including albums with Warren Vache
, Ken Peplowski
, Tony Coe
, Roy Williams and his own octet and nonet. He performed as a member of Clark Tracey
’s Tribute to Art Blakey and was featured on the David Newton/Clark Tracey recording Bootleg Eric.
In 1999 he toured America and Europe with Bryan Ferry
’s band, returning to the United States in early 2000 to record and tour for ten weeks with Warren Vache
’s eleven-piece band- a project for which Barnes had written most of the arrangements. A band with Don Weller
, celebrating the music of Cannonball Adderley, recorded a live album Cannonball which was awarded album of the year in the 2001 British Jazz Awards. In the same year he received the BBC Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year award. That November Alan featured on Baritone at the Blue Note Clubs in New York and Tokyo with the Charlie Watts
Tentet and followed this with a stay in South Africa as a solo artist.
A regular broadcaster over a ten-year period with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra
, he has toured and recorded with big band leaders, Dick Walter, Kenny Baker
, Bob Wilber
, Don Weller
, Stan Tracey
and Mike Westbrook
. Other bands he has toured and recorded with include the Gary Potter quartet, playing the music of Django Reinhardt
, the Tina May
Trio with Nikki Iles
, Bill LeSage’s Genetically Modified Quintet, and Spike Robinson
’s Tenor Madness. Alan has also appeared as a session musician on albums by Selina Jones, Björk
, Van Morrison
, Bryan Ferry
and can also be found on film and television soundtracks and jingles such as the Tetley Bitter series of adverts featuring his solo baritone.
Barnes has enjoyed considerable success in the The Marston's
Pedigree British Jazz Awards. Having won both the alto and clarinet sections five times and the Baritone section three times. To celebrate this achievement a recording ”Below Zero” featuring him on baritone saxophone accompanied by the David Newton Trio was released by Concord Jazz.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician.
Career
Alan Barnes attended Leeds College of MusicLeeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music, located in Leeds’ Quarry Hill cultural quarter, is the largest music college in the United Kingdom, with over 1,000 full-time and 1,000 part-time students. The college is best known for its leading role in jazz education and started one of the first jazz degrees in Europe...
between 1977–80 where he studied saxophone, woodwinds and arranging before moving to London. In 1980 he played with the Midnight Follies Orchestra and the following year was with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra
Pasadena Roof Orchestra
The Pasadena Roof Orchestra is a contemporary band from England that specialises in the jazz and swing genres of music of the 1920s and 1930s, although their full repertoire is considerably wider. The orchestra has existed since 1969, although the line-up has frequently changed...
, touring Europe until 1983. In that year he left to join the hard-bop band of Tommy Chase where he attracted attention on the UK jazz scene for the first time. He left Chase in 1986 to co-lead The Jazz Renegades with rock drummer Steve White with whom he recorded four albums.
In 1985 he recorded his first record date as co-leader with Tommy Whittle
Tommy Whittle
Tommy Whittle is a British jazz saxophonist.Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland and started playing clarinet at age 12 before taking up the tenor saxophone at 13. He moved to Chatham, Kent at 16 and in 1943 started playing in the dance hall band of Claude Giddins in nearby Gillingham...
– Straight Eight and as leader of his own quartet in 1987– Affiliation with pianist David Newton, an association that goes back to their days at Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Music, located in Leeds’ Quarry Hill cultural quarter, is the largest music college in the United Kingdom, with over 1,000 full-time and 1,000 part-time students. The college is best known for its leading role in jazz education and started one of the first jazz degrees in Europe...
. In 1988 Barnesn was asked to fill the chair recently vacated by Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner was an English saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.Born Malcolm Bruce Turner in Saltburn, he learned to play the clarinet as a schoolboy and began playing alto sax while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II...
in the Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
band where he stayed until 1992. Between 1987–97 he also led the Pizza Express
Pizza Express
PizzaExpress is a restaurant group with over 400 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 40 overseas in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot.In Ireland, PizzaExpress trades under the name Milano....
Modern Jazz Sextet with Gerard Presencer
Gerard Presencer
Gerard Presencer is an English jazz trumpeter who has also made a name as a session player in pop-music contexts, and as a jazz educator. He currently lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.- Biography :...
and Dave O’Higgins. After leaving the Lyttelton
Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
band, he concentrated on a freelance career. In 1993 he recorded again with Newton resulting in the duo album Like Minds and the quartet, quintet and sextet album Thirsty Work, which featured fellow reedmen Andy Panayi
Andy Panayi
Andy Panayi is a current jazz musician, skilled in performance, composition and arranging. He plays all the flutes and all the saxophones and leads a selection of jazz and classical groups...
and Iain Dixon. Throughout the 90s he co-led a quintet with be-bop trumpeter Bruce Adams, recording two CDs Side- Stepping and Lets Face the Music.
During 1997–99, Barnes began to record a large number of sessions with pianist Brian Lemon
Brian Lemon
Brian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...
on the Zephyr label including albums with Warren Vache
Warren Vache
Warren Vaché is a jazz trumpeter, cornetist and flugelhornist born in Rahway, New Jersey. He came from a musical family as his father was a bassist. In 1976 he released his first album...
, Ken Peplowski
Ken Peplowski
Ken Peplowski is a jazz clarinetist born in Cleveland, Ohio, known primarily for playing in the swing music idiom. He is sometimes compared to Benny Goodman in terms of tone and virtuosity...
, Tony Coe
Tony Coe
Anthony George Coe is a composer and jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone.Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1957 to 1962...
, Roy Williams and his own octet and nonet. He performed as a member of Clark Tracey
Clark Tracey
Clark Tracey is an English jazz drummer. He is the son of Stan Tracey.Tracey played piano and vibraphone before switching to drums at age 13, studying under Bryan Spring. Tracey played in several ensembles with his father, including in a quartet called Fathers and Sons with John and Alec Dankworth...
’s Tribute to Art Blakey and was featured on the David Newton/Clark Tracey recording Bootleg Eric.
In 1999 he toured America and Europe with Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
’s band, returning to the United States in early 2000 to record and tour for ten weeks with Warren Vache
Warren Vache
Warren Vaché is a jazz trumpeter, cornetist and flugelhornist born in Rahway, New Jersey. He came from a musical family as his father was a bassist. In 1976 he released his first album...
’s eleven-piece band- a project for which Barnes had written most of the arrangements. A band with Don Weller
Don Weller (musician)
Don Weller , is a British jazz musician, tenor saxophonist and composer.-Career:...
, celebrating the music of Cannonball Adderley, recorded a live album Cannonball which was awarded album of the year in the 2001 British Jazz Awards. In the same year he received the BBC Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year award. That November Alan featured on Baritone at the Blue Note Clubs in New York and Tokyo with the Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
Tentet and followed this with a stay in South Africa as a solo artist.
A regular broadcaster over a ten-year period with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra
BBC Big Band
The BBC Big Band, originally known as the BBC Radio Big Band is a British big band run under the auspices of the BBC. Widely regarded as the UK’s leading and most versatile jazz orchestra, the band broadcasts exclusivley on BBC Radio, particularly on BBC Radio 2's long running series Big Band Special...
, he has toured and recorded with big band leaders, Dick Walter, Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (musician)
Kenneth Clayton Baker was an American fiddle player best known for his 25-year tenure with Bill Monroe and his group The Bluegrass Boys.-Biography:...
, Bob Wilber
Bob Wilber
Bob Wilber is an internationally recognized American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and band leader living in Chipping Campden, England. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber has been a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his career to present traditional jazz...
, Don Weller
Don Weller (musician)
Don Weller , is a British jazz musician, tenor saxophonist and composer.-Career:...
, Stan Tracey
Stan Tracey
Stanley William Tracey CBE is a British jazz pianist and composer, most influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.-Early career:...
and Mike Westbrook
Mike Westbrook
Michael John David 'Mike' Westbrook is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces.-Early work:Mike Westbrook grew up in Torquay...
. Other bands he has toured and recorded with include the Gary Potter quartet, playing the music of Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, the Tina May
Tina May
Tina May is an English female jazz vocalist who has recorded several albums on the 33 Records label, born in Gloucester, U.K.. She lived in Frampton-on-Severn when she was young, and attended Stroud High School. Her ex-husband, Clark Tracey, appears on most of her albums for the label. May has...
Trio with Nikki Iles
Nikki Iles
Nikki Iles is an English jazz composer and musician, playing piano and accordion.Iles was born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, her parents both musicians...
, Bill LeSage’s Genetically Modified Quintet, and Spike Robinson
Spike Robinson
Henry Berthold "Spike" Robinson was a tenor saxophonist. He began playing at age twelve, making recordings with famous jazz and bop musicians on several labels including Discovery, Hep and Concord. However, he sought an engineering degree and followed that profession on a fulltime basis for nearly...
’s Tenor Madness. Alan has also appeared as a session musician on albums by Selina Jones, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
and can also be found on film and television soundtracks and jingles such as the Tetley Bitter series of adverts featuring his solo baritone.
Awards
- BBC Jazz AwardsBBC Jazz AwardsThe BBC Jazz Awards were set up in 2001 and had the status of one of the premier jazz awards in the UK. There were awards for Best Musician, Best Vocalist, Rising Star, Best Album, Jazz Innovation, Radio 2 Jazz Artist, Services to Jazz, Best of Jazz amongst others....
– Best Instrumentalist (2001) and (2006)
Barnes has enjoyed considerable success in the The Marston's
Marston's
Marston's is the colloquial name for the brewer and pub operator Marston's plc . The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index...
Pedigree British Jazz Awards. Having won both the alto and clarinet sections five times and the Baritone section three times. To celebrate this achievement a recording ”Below Zero” featuring him on baritone saxophone accompanied by the David Newton Trio was released by Concord Jazz.
Discography
- 1985: Straight Eight – Tommy Whittle (Miles Music)
- 1987: Affiliation – Alan Barnes (Miles Music)
- 1989: Avalon SunsetAvalon SunsetAvalon Sunset is the nineteenth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1989 The album has been described as "a powerful statement that the often turbulent muse had stabilized and was now a sublime force flowing through Van Morrison".The 29 January 2008 reissued and...
– Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
(Polydor/Umgd) - 1993: Like Minds – Alan Barnes and David Newton (Fret)
- 1994: Side Steppin – Bruce Adams/Alan Barnes Quintet (Big Bear)
- 1995: Let's Face The Music... – Bruce Adams/Alan Barnes Quintet (Big Bear)
- 1995: Thirsty Work – Alan Barnes (Fret)
- 1995: Post – BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
(One Little Indian) - 1995: Here Comes Trouble – Alan Barnes (Fret)
- 1996: A Sleeping Bee – Alan Barnes and Brian LemonBrian LemonBrian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...
(Zephyr) - 1996: Off Beaten Track – Mick TalbotMick TalbotMichael 'Mick' Talbot is a British keyboardist. He played with the late 1970s mod revivalists The Merton Parkas; Dexys Midnight Runners; The Bureau, and later with Paul Weller in The Style Council....
& Steve White (New Note) - 1997: The Don Weller Big Band Live [Live] – The Don Weller Big Band (33 Jazz)
- 1997: Revisited – Jim Richardson's Pogo feat. Alan Barnes (Spotlite)
- 1997: Lay 'em Straight! – Humphrey LytteltonHumphrey LytteltonHumphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
and his band feat. Alan Barnes & Joe TemperleyJoe TemperleyJoe Temperley is a Scottish saxophonist. He has performed on various instruments but is most associated with the baritone saxophone and bass clarinet....
(Calligraph) - 1997: Young Minds – Old Hands – Alan Barnes & Brian LemonBrian LemonBrian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...
Octet (Zephyr) - 1997: Play Jerome Kern: Yesterdays – Alan Barnes & Brian LemonBrian LemonBrian Lemon is a European jazz pianist and arranger most notable for his works with Benny Goodman, Charlie Watts, Scott Hamilton, Buddy Tate, Milt Jackson, Ben Webster, George Chisholm and Kenny Baker. He moved to London in the mid-1950s to join Freddy Randall's band. After that he worked with a...
(Zephyr) - 1998: Below Zero – Alan Barnes (Concord)
- 1998: Bootleg Eric – David Newton and Clark TraceyClark TraceyClark Tracey is an English jazz drummer. He is the son of Stan Tracey.Tracey played piano and vibraphone before switching to drums at age 13, studying under Bryan Spring. Tracey played in several ensembles with his father, including in a quartet called Fathers and Sons with John and Alec Dankworth...
(Asc) - 1998: Shine – Warren VacheWarren VacheWarren Vaché is a jazz trumpeter, cornetist and flugelhornist born in Rahway, New Jersey. He came from a musical family as his father was a bassist. In 1976 he released his first album...
, Tony CoeTony CoeAnthony George Coe is a composer and jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone.Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1957 to 1962...
and Alan Barnes (Zephyr) - 1998: Days of Wine and Roses – Tony CoeTony CoeAnthony George Coe is a composer and jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone.Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1957 to 1962...
and Alan Barnes (Zephyr) - 1998: A Dotty Blues – Alan Barnes (w' Gerard PresencerGerard PresencerGerard Presencer is an English jazz trumpeter who has also made a name as a session player in pop-music contexts, and as a jazz educator. He currently lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.- Biography :...
& Mark Nightingale) (Zephyr) - 1999: Jumpin – Warren VacheWarren VacheWarren Vaché is a jazz trumpeter, cornetist and flugelhornist born in Rahway, New Jersey. He came from a musical family as his father was a bassist. In 1976 he released his first album...
, Tony CoeTony CoeAnthony George Coe is a composer and jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone.Coe began his performing career playing with Humphrey Lyttelton's band from 1957 to 1962...
and Alan Barnes Septet (Zephyr) - 1999: Memories of You – Warren VacheWarren VacheWarren Vaché is a jazz trumpeter, cornetist and flugelhornist born in Rahway, New Jersey. He came from a musical family as his father was a bassist. In 1976 he released his first album...
and Alan Barnes (Zephyr) - 1999: As Time Goes By – Bryan FerryBryan FerryBryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
(Virgin) - 2000: John Williams' Baritone Band – John Williams' Baritone Band (Spotlite)
- 2000: Connonball – Alan Barnes (Asc)
- 2000: The Pollwinners Playing Girl Talk – Alan Barnes Octet (Zephyr)
- 2000: Summertime – Alan Barnes and David Newton (Concord)
- 2001: Manhattan – Alan Barnes and David Newton feat. Conte CandoliConte CandoliSecondo "Conte" Candoli was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show. He played with Gerry Mulligan, and on Frank Sinatra's TV specials...
(Concord) - 2002: If You Could See Me Now – Alan Barnes Quartet (Zephyr)
- 2002: Speaking of Love – Marlene Ver Planck (Audiophile)
- 2003: Live and Swinging [Live] – Peter York Jazz Allstars (Nagel Heyer)
- 2003: Better Late Than Never – Alan Barnes (Woodville)
- 2003: Swingin' the Samba – Alan Barnes Quintet (Woodville)
- 2003: The Sherlock Holmes Suite (2 CD) – Alan Barnes (Woodville)
- 2004: TwentysomethingTwentysomething (album)Twentysomething is the third album by Jamie Cullum. It was released in 2003 in his native UK, and in May 2004 in the United States.On this release Cullum performs some original material as well as some covers and standards...
– Jamie CullumJamie CullumJamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
(Verve) - 2004: Stablemates – Alan Barnes and John Horler (Woodville)
- 2004: Songs for Unsung Heroes – Alan Barnes & Alan Plater (Woodville)
- 2005: Yeah! – Alan Barns Quintet feat. Steve Waterman (Specific Jazz)
- 2005: The Marbella Jazz Suite – Alan Barnes (Big Bear)
- 2006: Blessing In Disguise – Alan Barnes Quartet (Woodville)
- 2006: Hard! – Tommy Chase Quartet feat. Alan Barnes (Bgp)
- 2006: Seven Ages of Jazz – Alan Barnes and Alan Plater (Woodville)
- 2006: Zootcase – Alan Barnes & Scott HamiltonScott Hamilton (musician)Scott Hamilton is a jazz tenor saxophonist, born in 1954 and associated with swing and mainstream jazz.-Biography:He emerged in the 1970s and at the time he was considered to be one of the few musicians of real talent who carried the tradition of the classic jazz tenor saxophone in the style of...
with the David Newton Trio (Woodville) - 2006: BBC Jazz Awards 2006 [Compilation] – Various Artists (Specific Jazz)
- 2007: Barnestorming – Alan Barnes/Harry AllenHarry Allen (musician)Harry Allen is an American jazz tenor saxophonist born in Washington, D.C.. Early on he was recognized in high school as an exceptional talent being able to uncannily play tunes such as Body and Soul in the style of legendary tenor players Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Flip Phillips, or Sam Donahue...
(Woodville) - 2007: Nine Songs – Don Weller/Bobby WellinsBobby WellinsRobert Coull "Bobby" Wellins is a Scottish tenor saxophonist best known for his collaboration with Stan Tracey on the seminal 1965 British jazz album Under Milk Wood....
(Trio) - 2007: Spontaneous Combustion – Bruce Adams/Alan Barnes Quintet (Woodville)
- 2007: Sideways – Alan Barnes & John Hallam with the David Newton Trio (Woodville)