THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
Royal British Legion
Watts Dyke
Llay
Wrexham
LL12 0RL
Admission:
£10
£8 (Concession)
£5 (Students’ Union Members & Schoolchildren)
Concerts commence at 8:30pm
For further information telephone
01745 812260
Tuesday 28 April / Dydd Mawrth 28 Ebrill
ALAN BARNES + QUARTET
ALAN BARNES, a five times winner of both the alto sax and clarinet sections at the
British Jazz Awards, has won the event’s baritone sax section three times. He has a string
of recordings as leader, with pianists Brian Lemon on the Zephyr label and Dave Newton
on Concord Jazz, and with Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, Stan Tracey, the Tina May Trio
and Spike Robinson’s Tenor Madness.
Alan first attracted considerable attention as a player on the UK jazz scene in 1983 when
he joined the hard bop band of Tommy Chase and, later when he joined
Humphrey Lyttelton's band between 1988 and 1993, before concentrating on his freelance
career. As a sideman, he broadcast regularly over a ten-year period with the BBC Big
Band, Radio Orchestra and Concert Orchestra and has toured and recorded with big band
leaders Dick Walter, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, Mike Westbrook, Don Weller,
Stan Tracey and John Dankworth, and from 1987 to 1997 led the Pizza Express Modern
Jazz Sextet, featuring Gerard Presencer and Dave O’Higgins.
Alan, who appeared regularly for five years as a member of the Laurie Holloway
Orchestra on TV’s Michael Parkinson Show was voted BBC Jazz Instrumentalist of the
Year in 2001 and 2006, and in 2003 was made a fellow of the Leeds College of Music.
The same year saw the inception of his own record label, Woodville Records, which has
led to him producing over 40 CDs, including ones playing with Scott Hamilton,
Warren Vache, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen, David Newton, Bruce Adams and
Martin Taylor. He has also produced recordings of his contemporaries such as Jim Hart,
Simon Spillett and Enrico Tomasso.
More recent projects have included The Liquorice-stick All-sorts with Jim Hart on
vibes and Paul Clavis on drums, an all-star octet playing the music of Duke Ellington, a
duo album, “Two For The Road” with Martin Taylor, which was nominated for a
British Jazz Award, an album of Art Pepper’s music, Arnie Somegyi’s “Scenes in The
City” featuring the music of Charles Mingus, new arrangements of Johnny Mandel
songs to feature Anita Wardell and a new quintet with Tony Kofi. Alan also recently
featured on the Bryan Ferry “Jazz Age” recording and Great Gatsby soundtrack, and
has been touring with Paloma Faith and the Guy Barker Orchestra.
An extremely versatile musician who has become a firm favourite at festivals across the
UK, Alan has performed with Selina Jones, Bjork, Van Morrison, Clare Teal,
Jamie Cullum and Bryan Ferry and in recent years has toured widely in the USA, South
Africa and Europe.
For tonight's concert he will be appearing with the keyboards, guitar, double bass and
drums of the North Wales Jazz Quartet.
