This concert for the BBC Jazz Club program opens with what to Chris Barber fans will be the familiar signature tune of the band, “I Never Shall Forget,” the show’s compère being Humphrey Lyttelton. Thus begins a typical Barber performance, including featured guests—in this case three of them: a singer, a sax player, and a piano player.
The front line consists of the stalwart Pat Halcox, a founding member of the band, on trumpet; Ian Wheeler, who replaced Monty Sunshine (1961) on clarinet and also added alto saxophone to the band’s sound; and, of course, Barber himself on trombone. The back line has Dick Smith (joining in 1956) on bass, Eddie Smith (1956) on guitar and banjo, and Graham Burbidge (1957) on drums. Ottilie Patterson is still the band’s vocalist, her vocal problems being a decade or more in the future. So for the most part it was a familiar line up.
The first number to feature a guest, “Route 66,” brings Bobby Breen to the microphone. Breen was a pop vocalist, appearing in night clubs, radio, and film. His voice is a pleasing enough tenor, but not exactly remarkable. He was, however, quite popular in the 50s and 60s. His other numbers on this occasion are the up-tempo “Hello Little Girl” and the finale, “St. Louis Blues, which brings the whole cast together.
Only 45 when he died, next guest Joe Harriott was better known in the U.K. as a modern jaz
