The Big Chris Barber Band:
Hot Jazz Festival Euro-Park
This is an excellent first DVD from the Big Chris Barber Band, filmed on May 25, 2002 at the Porsche Hot Jazz Festival, Europa Park. The 60-minute programme contains eleven tunes, including “Harlem Rag,” “Sweetness,” “Mercy Mercy Mercy,” and the outstanding “Goin’ Home/Chimes Blues” combination. Two Ellington numbers, “Misty Morning” and “Jungle Nights In Harlem,” provide a nod in the direction the band was to follow over the next year and a half, taking advantage of Bob Hunt’s Ellington expertise and fine arranging skills, as well as the possibilities provided by the expanded front line. Apart from a single track on the new Jubilee Stomp CD, this was the last (to date) commercially released performance by John Crocker, after almost 35 years with the band.

The Big Chris Barber Band: Hot Jazz Festival Euro-Park / INAK 6403 DVD / Released November 2003.

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