Big Chris Barber Band gets Barnes Rockin’ in Rhythm’
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Much is made of Chris Barber’s longevity; after all, he’s in his eighties now and he and his band seem to have been on the road since the dawn of time.
The enthusiasm of those packed in to Wathen Hall knew few bounds and Barber responded – after all, he is one of their own, having attended the school himself, albeit a lifetime ago – with a cleverly constructed set of small group numbers and expanded pieces, all moving along at a fair old pace.
Choreographed and pre-defined (the sequence of songs exactly matched those observed at an earlier concert) it all may be but that was no matter for an audience so suffused by the rosy glow of nostalgia. While it remains pleasurable to hear clarinettist Richard Exall recreate ‘Petite Fleur’ so exultantly, there were perhaps greater rewards in observing the big CB band as they got their teeth into their chosen Ellington compositions, paced by the expert wa-wa trombone of Bob Hunt.
With a wide stage, the bandsmen (and one woman, saxophonist Amy Roberts) lined up abreast, stepping forward to solo as each piece followed upon another. Given this predictability, it’s easy to locate Barber and his cohort of brilliant musicians among the various show bands that throng the variety circuit. Maybe so, but that is to downplay the verve and the sheer musical class of these performers, typified by new-ish recruit Bert Brandsma, soaring on clarinet on ‘Wild Cat Blues’ or the zesty precision of trumpeters Peter Rudeforth and Mike Henry on ‘Rockin’ in Rhythm’ and the startlingly effective flute playing of Roberts on the penultimate ‘Saints’. What is clear is that Barber’s desire to perform this crowd-pleasing combination of New Orleans staples and Ellington originals is apparently unquenchable, the concern for ensemble dynamics, and for order and structure, coupled with the joyful professionalism on view still noteworthy after all these years.
Given this invitation to an ‘old boy’ to fly the flag for jazz, it’s pleasing to report that alto-saxophonist Tom Smith, a present-day pupil at St Paul's, is listed as a finalist in the BBC’s inaugural Young Jazz Musician of the Year. Call it continuity or coincidence, either way it’s a feather in the cap for Tom and his instructors. He joins the Royal Academy of Music course in September.
– Peter Vacher