Late 1954 and early 1955 seems to have been a very busy period for the fledgling Chris Barber’s Jazz Band, including two major (and now almost legendary) concerts at the Royal Festival Hall, the latter of which marked the first public appearance – on record at least – of Ottilie Patterson, plus a visit to Denmark, which also produced some concert recordings that are still available. There were many studio recordings as well, originally released on four labels: Decca, Pye/Nixa, Storyville, and Columbia – reminiscent of the multi-label recordings, often of the same tunes and even on the same day, that Duke Ellington made in the late 1920s. Just ten tracks were released by Columbia, on the famous but rare 10-inch LP, Jazz Sacred and Secular, a record that illustrates the tremendous versatility of the band,
even at this early stage, with four Ellington numbers, four spirituals, a folk song, and a popular song, and featuring two vocals by Lonnie Donegan. In addition to the LP, most of the recordings were also issued on four-track, seven-inch EPs, such as Going To Town, shown to the left. They’ve also been re-issued on a Dormouse CD, which unfortunately is no longer available, but eight of the tracks have been included on The Best Of Chris Barber’s Jazz Band. Lovely recordings: a must for every Barber fan’s collection!
Record details: Personnel: Pat Halcox (trumpet), Chris Barber (trombone), Monty Sunshine (clarinet), Lonnie Donegan (banjo and guitar), Jim Bray (bass), Ron Bowden (drums). See a scan of the back of the original LP cover for more details about Jazz Sacred And Secular.
Music: Going To Town
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