memories of my trip

Chris Barber

Birth Name: Christopher Donald Barber
Born: April 17, 1930
Died: March 2, 2021
Genres: Bues, Country, Folk, Jazz, Ragtime, Rock, Skiffle, Swing,

Member of: The Chris Barber Jazz and Blues Band, The Chris Barber Skiffle Group, Chris Barber's American Jazz Band, Chris Barber's Jazz Band

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2001 Feb, 5 on air from BBC Radio 2 Studios Maida Vale, London. Full tracklisting: 8. introduction, 9. blues stay away from me, 10. talking, 11. sultans of swing, 12. interview, 13. Dallas rag, 14. interview, 15. I'll see you in my dreams, 16. interview, 17. the next time I'm in town, 18. talking, 19. goin' home.

Taken from the booklet:

12. ...
I love Mark Knopfler's playing and his singing too. I first became aware of him with Dire Straits, and I went along to see them a few times. His song "Sultans Of Swing" showed a certain awareness of jazz and its history. He was also aware of my band, and one time he asked me if we played things differently every time, or if we learned them note for note. I explained that we improvised, whereas he learns things off very carefully, it seems. A chorus to him is a piece of music, and rather than just playing for sixteen bars, he likes to get a bit of form into it. After Dire Straits he did the Notting Hillbillies and I played a whole week with them one time when they where at Ronnie Scott’s, and this blues song is one of the ones we did there during that time.
13. ...
We recorded the three tracks with Mark Knopfler as part of a session for a Radio 2 series I had a few years ago. He came in with a whole set of tunes agreed, but at one point there was a break in the proceedings, and he just sat down and started this little ragtime piece, a genuine traditional tune recorded by the Dallas String Band in the 1920s. We joined in, and on the spur of the moment we said, "Okay, let's record it!" So we did and this is a completely spontaneous unplanned part of the session.
14. ...
One thing Mark has done over the years is to play duets with many other musicians, one of whom is Chet Atkins. When I was in the States a lot in the 1980s, because my wife and children were living in Florida, I remember seeing a Country and Western show on the television quite often, and I realised that the standard country band had a lot in common with a jazz group: a piano, bass and drums rhythm section, and maybe a cornet and a reed instrument or a violin in the front line. On one particular occasion I was watching the show and there was Chet Atkins as the guest, and at one point the fiddle player and guitarist in the band played the Reinhardt / Grappelli version of “Tiger Rag”. This proved that they are very broad-minded musicians, and I think that is why I was keen to play “'Til The Next Time I’m In Town” with Mark, as it was a number he’d done with Chet Atkins, and we’d later played with the Notting Hillbillies. The chance came when we did the radio session and Mark was our guest. I like the section at the end where the front line players each get a little solo and a name check, and the music fits together in a very melodic and comfortable way.

Liner notes: Chris Barber, in conversation with Alyn Shipton / August / September 2010.

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revised
13.05.2021