Alan Barnes (born 23 July 1959) is a multi-award winning English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and clarinet player.

Career

Between 1977 and 1980, Barnes attended Leeds College of Music, 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 The Pasadena Roof Orchestra (PRO) 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, a ...

, 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 as co-leader with

Tommy Whittle Tommy Whittle (13 October 1926 – 13 October 2013) was a British jazz saxophonist. Biography Tommy Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He started playing clarinet at the age of 12 before taking up tenor saxophone at 13, guided by A ...

(entitled ''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, Barnes was asked to fill the chair recently vacated by

Bruce Turner Malcom Bruce Turner (5 July 1922 – 28 November 1993) was an English jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Biography Born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England, and educated at Dulwich College, he learned to play the clarine ...

in the

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

band where he stayed until 1992. Between 1987 and 1997, he also led the

Pizza Express PizzaExpress is a British multinational restaurant group, owned by a group of bondholders. It has over 470 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the Unite ...

Modern Jazz Sextet, with

Gerard Presencer Gerard Presencer (born 12 September 1972) is an English jazz trumpeter. Biography Presencer showed his first interest in what was to become his chosen instrument, the trumpet, at nine. He attributes his early determination to become a trumpete ...

and Dave O’Higgins. After leaving the Humphrey 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 Andy Panayi is a British 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. He also writes commissioned works and self commissione ...

and Iain Dixon. Throughout the 1990s he co-led a quintet with be-bop trumpeter Bruce Adams, recording two CDs for Big Bear Records, ''Side-Steppin and ''Lets Face the Music,'' and later ''The Marbella Jazz Suite'' as part of the specially assembled Alan Barnes All Stars ensemble. During 1997–99, Barnes began to record a large number of sessions with pianist

Brian Lemon Brian Lemon (11 February 1937 – 11 October 2014) was a British jazz pianist and arranger. Biography Lemon was born in Nottingham, England. After leaving school in the 1950s, he began playing professionally at Nottingham's Palais de Danse and ...

on the Zephyr label, including albums with Warren Vache,

Ken Peplowski Ken Peplowski (born May 23, 1959) is an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and known primarily for playing swing music. For over a decade, Peplowski recorded for Concord Records. In ...

Tony Coe Anthony George Coe (born 29 November 1934) is an English jazz musician who plays clarinet, bass clarinet, flute as well as soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones. Career Born in Canterbury, Kent, England, Coe started out on clarinet and was self- ...

, 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 Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

'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 Barnes 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 Robert Sage Wilber (March 15, 1928 – August 4, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader. Although his scope covers a wide range of jazz, Wilber was a dedicated advocate of classic styles, working throughout his caree ...

, Don Weller,

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album '' Jazz Suite Inspi ...

and

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...

. Other bands he has toured and recorded with include the Gary Potter quartet, playing the music of

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

, the

Tina May Daphne Christina May (30 March 1961 – 26 March 2022), known professionally as Tina May, was an English jazz vocalist. Early life and career The younger of two daughters born to Harry May and Daphne E. Walton,Nikki Iles Nikki Anne Iles ( née Burnham; born 16 May 1963) is a British jazz composer, pianist and educator. Early life Iles was born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, on 16 May 1963. She started her musical education at primary school, where she learnt to ...

, Bill LeSage's Genetically Modified Quintet, and

Spike Robinson Henry Bertholf "Spike" Robinson (January 16, 1930 – October 29, 2001) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He began playing at age twelve, recording on several labels, including Discovery, Hep and Concord. However, he sought an engineering degree and ...

's Tenor Madness. Barnes has also appeared as a session musician on albums by Selina Jones, Björk,

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and can also be found on film and television soundtracks and jingles such as the

Tetley Bitter Tetley's Brewery (Joshua Tetley & Son Ltd) was an English regional brewery founded in 1822 by Joshua Tetley in Hunslet, now a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire. The beer was originally produced at the Leeds Brewery, which was later renamed the Le ...

series of adverts featuring his solo baritone.

Awards

* Best Instrumentalist,

BBC Jazz Awards The BBC Jazz Awards were set up in 2001 and had the status of one of the premier jazz awards in the United Kingdom (among those presenting the awards were Denis Lawson, Sue Mingus, Humphrey Lyttelton, Ian Carr, Clive James, Mike Gibbs, Julian Jo ...

, 2001, 2006 * Clarinet, British Jazz Awards, 2016 * In the

Marston's Marston's plc is a British pub and hotel operator. Founded by John Marston in 1834, it is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Marston's disposed of its brewing operations in 2020, selling the assets to a newly formed joint venture with the C ...

Pedigree British Jazz Awards, Barnes won the alto and clarinet sections five times and the baritone section three times.

Discography

As leader or sideman

* 1987: ''Affiliation'' (Miles) * 1993: ''Side-Steppin'' ( Big Bear) * 1995: ''Thirsty Work'' (Fret) * 1995: ''Here Comes Trouble'' (Fret) * 1995: ''Let's Face The Music'' ( Big Bear) * 1998: ''Below Zero'' (

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

) * 2000: ''Cannonball'' (Asc) * 2000: ''The Pollwinners Playing Girl Talk'' (Zephyr) * 2002: ''If You Could See Me Now'' (Zephyr) * 2003: ''Better Late Than Never'' (Woodville) * 2003: ''Swingin' the Samba'' (Woodville) * 2003: ''The Sherlock Holmes Suite'' (Woodville) * 1998: ''A Dotty Blues'' (Zephyr) * 1999: ''Memories of You'' (Zephyr) * 1999: ''Jumpin'' (Zephyr)''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Volume 1, p. 430, Colin Larkin, 2006 "with Vache, Coe Jumpin' (Zephyr 2000)" * 2004: ''The Marbella Jazz Suite'' ( Big Bear) * 2005: ''Yeah!'' (Specific Jazz) * 2006: ''Blessing in Disguise'' (Woodville) * 2011: ''Inside Out'' (Woodville) * 2014: ''The Cobbler's Waltz'' (Woodville) * 2014: ''Live at the Watermill'' (Woodville) * 2015: ''One for Moll'' (Woodville) * 2015: ''A Jazz Christmas Carol'' (Woodville) * 2006: ''Zootcase'' (Woodville) * 2015: ''Oh Gee'' (Woodville) With

* 1998: ''Shine'' (Zephyr) * 1998: ''Days of Wine and Roses'' (Zephyr) With

John Horler John Douglas Horler (born 26 February 1947) is an English jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of jazz musician David Horler and the uncle of Natalie Horler, lead singer in the band Cascada. Horler was born in Lymington. He began on piano a ...

* 2004: ''Stablemates'' (Woodville) With

* 1996: ''A Sleeping Bee'' (Zephyr) * 1997: ''Young Minds–Old Hands'' (Zephyr) * 1997: ''Play Jerome Kern: Yesterdays'' (Zephyr) With David Newton * 1993: ''Like Minds'' (Fret) * 2000: ''Summertime'' (Concord) * 2001: ''Manhattan'' feat.

Conte Candoli Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) 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 Orc ...

(Concord) With

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. Career Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his family ...

* 2004: ''Songs for Unsung Heroes'' (Woodville) * 2006: ''Seven Ages of Jazz'' (Woodville) With Martin Taylor * 2011: ''Two for the Road'' (Woodville)

As guest

* 1995: ''

Post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

'' – Björk (One Little Indian) * 1989: ''

Avalon Sunset ''Avalon Sunset'' is the nineteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1989 by Mercury Records to both commercial and critical success. In 2008, ''Avalon Sunset'' was reissued and remastered, featuri ...

'' –

(

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

/Umgd) * 1985: ''Straight Eight'' –

(Miles Music) * 1996: ''Off Beaten Track'' –

Mick Talbot Michael Talbot (born 11 September 1958) is an English keyboardist. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Talbot is probably best known as co-founder of the Style Council. He has been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Merton Parkas and ...

& Steve White (New Note) * 1997: ''The Don Weller Big Band Live'' (33 Jazz) * 1997: ''Revisited'' – Jim Richardson's Pogo ( Spotlite) * 1997: ''Lay 'em Straight!'' –

(Calligraph) * 1998: ''Bootleg Eric'' – David Newton and Clark Tracey (Asc) * 1999: ''As Time Goes By'' –

(Virgin) * 2000: ''John Williams' Baritone Band'' – John Williams' Baritone Band (Spotlite) * 2003: ''Live and Swinging'' –

Pete York Peter York (born 15 August 1942 in Redcar, Yorkshire, England) is a British rock drummer who has been performing since the 1960s. Biography Born in Redcar, he attended the Nottingham High School and learnt to play the trumpet and snare drum ...

Jazz All Stars ( Nagel Heyer) * 2004: '' Twentysomething'' –

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

(

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

) * 2007: ''Barnestorming'' – Alan Barnes/ Harry Allen (Woodville) * 2007: ''Nine Songs'' – Don Weller/

Bobby Wellins Robert Coull Wellins (24 January 1936 – 27 October 2016) was a Scottish tenor saxophonist who collaborated with Stan Tracey on the album '' Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood"'' (1965). Biography Robert Coull Wellins was ...

(Trio) * 2013: ''Ninick'' - Remi Harris ( Big Bear) * 2015: ''The Kofi/Barnes Aggregation'' with Tony Kofi (Woodville)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Alan 1959 births Living people English jazz saxophonists English jazz clarinetists People from Altrincham Alumni of Leeds College of Music Nagel-Heyer Records artists