History Chris Barber’s Jazz Band

Chris Barber (born 17th April 1930) is an English jazz trombonist.

Barber was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, and educated at St Paul’s School in London. He is best known as a trombonist playing in the trad style with his Dixieland jazz band.

In 1953-1954 he was in a band called Ken Colyer’s Jazzmen with Ken Colyer, Lonnie Donegan, , Jim Bray, Ron Bowden and Monty Sunshine. It was during this period that the band used to play Skiffle during their breaks and Lonnie Donegan sang the “Midnight Special” and “In the evening, when de sun go down” which turned out to be big sellers at the time.

At the end of a year there was a bustup and Ken Colyer stormed out to start up his own band and Chris Barber took over the band and renamed it. From an earlier conversation I had with Lonnie Donegan, I was led to believe the bust up concerned Ken Colyer and him.

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