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- Running time:
- 2hrs 15mins (incl interval)
Alan Barnes is a prolific international performer, composer, arranger, bandleader and touring soloist. He is best known for his work on clarinet, alto and baritone sax, where he combines a formidable virtuosity with a musical expression and collaborative spirit that have few peers. His range and brilliance have made him a “first call” in jazz for studio and live work since his precocious arrival on the scene forty-five years ago.
His recorded catalogue is immense. He has made over thirty albums as leader and co-leader alone, and the list of his session and side-man work includes, Charlie Watts, Bryan Ferry, Michel LeGrande, Clare Teale, Jools Holland and Jamie Cullum. He has toured and played residencies with such diverse and demanding figures as Ruby Braff, Freddie Hubbard, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen and Conte Candoli.
In British jazz, first appearing with the Tommy Chase and the Jazz Renegades, the young Barnes was recognised – and hired – by the established greats of the time: Stan Tracey, John Dankworth, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, and Humphrey Lyttelton. But he is equally respected for his longstanding and fruitful collaborations with contemporaries such as David Newton, Bruce Adams, Mark Nightingale and Martin Taylor.
He written many compositions and arrangements including “The Sherlock Holmes Suite”, “A Jazz Christmas Carol”, and “Copperfield” as well as collaborations with Alan Plater : “Songs For Unsung Heroes”, ‘The seven Ages of Jazz” and the musical “Looking For Buddy” Alan also runs a successful Jazz record label Woodville Records.
Alan Barnes’s unique musicianship, indefatigable touring, and warm rapport with audiences have made him uniquely popular in British jazz. He has received over 30 British Jazz Awards, most recently in 2019 for alto sax, and has twice been made BBC Jazz Musician of the Year. In 2023 Alan appeared as a member of the Wynton Marsalis Sextet at the Buxton International Festival and has just returned from a series of concerts in Cincinnati.
'Barnes’ melodic sense bypasses the usual scale-running clichés that pep-per the playing of lesser bop disciples.'Peter Marsh, BBC Music Review
'His stylistic range is quite phenomenal… He has a wonderful capacity for suggesting a given style without actually imitating anyone'Dave Gelly, Masters Of The Jazz Saxophone
'I was relishing the prospect of Barnes’s casually consummate musician-ship, deadpan humour (he could be a comedian, if jazz ever fails him), and indomitable belief in a respected place for the music’s rich history in this eclectic and often forgetful world.'John Fordham - The Guardian
'Barnes plays music that was radical 50 years ago but he infuses it with so much passion and energy you could believe it was minted on the spot, which is always part of the story with jazz.'John L. Walters, The Guardian