The Big Chris Barber Band

The First Eleven

Personnel
Chris Barber (tmb vcl); Bob Hunt (tmb); Pat Halcox (tpt vcl); Mike Henry (tpt); John Crocker (reeds); John Defferary (reeds); Tony Carter (baritone, alto, cl); John Slaughter (gtr); Paul Sealey (bjo gtr); Vic Pitt (str bs); Colin Miller (drms)

Tracks
Alice Blue Gown * Sweetness * Bourbon Street Parade * Cornbread Peas & Black Molasses * Mercy, Mercy, Mercy * Whatcha Gonna Do? * South Rampart Street Parade * Sweet Georgia Brown / Slap ‘N’ Slide * Goin’ Home / Chimes Blues * Petite Fleur * When The Saints Go March In

(Ti) CDTTD650 - Timeless Records - P.O. Box 201, 6700 AE Wageningen, Holland.
Recorded at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, England, on the 16th of December 2001.
Produced by Paul Adams and Chris Barber. Recorded by Paul and Susan Adams.
If crowd applause had not been ear washed out, it would have added to the vibrancy of the album.
Liner notes by Paul Adams. Introduction by Chris Barber.

The subtleness for the band name "Big Chris Barber Band" rather than going for a Chris Barber Big Band is not only profound, but also real, as it will come to reveal.

True, the opening number Alice Blue Gown of this "First Eleven" album is one, that one can dance a Quick-Step to, but, in no sense of imagination, can one refer to this eleven members’ group as being a dance band.

It is natural for someone, longstanding in love with a product to become despondent at any change that may take place, and so will want to voice misgivings at anything happening to it that will alter their affection for what they have grown accustomed to.

The Chris Barber Newsletter, over months, admirably published numerous letters from fans expressing their displeasure at the "Chris Barber" band daring to make the change to what they have described now as becoming a "Big Band."

On Bourbon Street Parade some of us may well recall falling in line and marching to what this could be called as a shortened version of Kneller Hall music, but in no way can this album be referred to as being a military styled band, especially when one will hear the finely articulated Paul Sealey solo on this tune bringing out the rarely expressed attributes of the banjo.

Sweetness is an arrangement by Bob Hunt, its source with which I’m not familiar, has a chamber music feel to it, and to me it comes over like a vase, flowering of clarinet/trombone musicology, one element in bringing an interesting new forward looking direction to this new styled band - Perfect beauty.

Me mercy me, on Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, the three clarinettists each take up alto, tenor and baritone saxophones respectively, why - is clear to be reasoned. The number is composed by Joe Zawinul which created a hit tune for Cannonball Adderley, altoist, and a one-time member of the Miles Davis sextet, brings the Big Chris Barber Band to the apogee of what the brouhaha is all about, yet, it's a number on which one is given the chance to listen to some first-class musicianship.

One regains composure hearing the Chris Barber masterpiece Sweet Georgia Brown Slap’N' Slide with a nice guitar solo and string bass accompaniment too boot, and, to add sustenance for more pleasure, South Rampart Street Parade sounds wonderfully like an expanded New Orleans band, which I’m sure that the Chris Barber innovations in assimilation, will turn out to be a long-lasting benefit.

The Armstrong brilliance on Goin’ Home-Chimes Blues with driving riff movement effects, evident a smooth faultless uptake into the King Oliver element of this twin-named number is in itself - meritorious. One should listen to this version of Chimes Blues much more than once to learn that this is not only a fine tribute to its composer, but also to the song itself. However, the hair-raising to theatre-crowd end-piece, on this innovatively constructed number, does not merit efforts of racing like a T34 tank, pounding to overthrow its very sensitive belfry chimes echoes - although giving joy to some, it does not do so to others, but mars the pleasure of hearing these tuneful chimes.

Current Chris Barber followers, his fans of yesteryear, New Orleans aficionados, all, when they listen to this rendition of When The Saints Go Marching In, taking in the Europeans from a full Barber March 2002 Book, covering Holland, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and to who knows, of it stretching far and wide into the East, will put the jazz-brits back into the Brits, when the world over should hear, in particular, this superb full rousing apt eight minutes of Saints from the Big Chris Barber Band playing at its very best.

It’s enthralling.

Ian King
Kings Jazz Review
Saturday 24 February 2002

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