Folk - Barber Style
£4.98
- Banks Of Bann
- Albamy Bound
- Midnight In Moscow
- Tom Dooley
- Streets Of Laredo
- Midnight Special
- So Long It s Been Good To Know You
- When Johnny Comes Marching Home
- Wimoweh
- On Top Of Old Smokey
- Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
- Ha Ha This A-way
- Goodnight Irene
- Bobby Shaftoe
An Omniscient Performance - This wide ranging CD provides evidence of a most appealing and all-embracing Barber quality - a jazz band where all members are enjoying what they are playing. The line-up is from the mid 1960 s with Chris Barber s trombone taking its usual firm grip, but providing opportunities for everyone to add something special. This is a great CD but its title may be misleading as rather than folk the numbers are really traditional and the style is unashamably trad . There is no nonsense good-time jazz in numbers like Tom Dooley and Bobby Shaftoe, but innovative approaches are taken for such as Midnight in Moscow and Midnight Special. Pat Halcox is on good form throughout with particularly meticulous playing of his trumpet up-front on Wimoweh and in support on Ha ha This a-Way. Ian Wheeler excels with examples of clarinet on When Johnny Comes Marching Home, soprano-sax on Goodnight Irene, and alto-sax on Kisses sweeter Than Wine and So Long It s Been Good To Know You. Eddie Smith on banjo, Dick Smith on bass, and Graham Burbidge on drums all supply superb support, but also take major roles as on Alabamy Bound, and when combining with Ottilie Patterson on Banks Of The Bann. Ottilie doesn t employ lyrics but her wordless singing is a joy on this opening track and on On Top Of Old Smokey, plus her melodica on Streets Of Laredo. The trombone reigns omnisciently supreme and Chris Barber demonstrates quality in all-round performances as well as in selection and arrangement of numbers.