Chris Barber | |
|---|---|
 Barber in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Donald Christopher Barber |
| Born | 17 April 1930 Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England |
| Died | 2 March 2021 (aged 90) |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instrument(s) | Trombone, double bass |
| Years active | 1950-2019 |
| Labels | |
| Website | chrisbarber |
Donald Christopher Barber OBE (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fleur" in 1959. These musicians included the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with Barber triggered the skiffle craze of the mid-1950s and who had his first transatlantic hit, "Rock Island Line", while with Barber's band. He provided an audience for Donegan and, later, Alexis Korner, and sponsored African-American blues musicians to visit Britain, making Barber a significant figure in launching the British rhythm and blues and "beat boom" of the 1960s.