Play 90 second soundbite of 'Magnolia's Wedding Day' @ 'CD quality'
Rammed with superb, easy jazz this Chris Barber release would grace the collection of any jazz lover, anywhere. Forget all the hype about what jazz is and should be. Forget all the modern jazz nuances and experimentation. Chris Barber was part of the fairly hefty movement that managed to get themselves into the homes of the British public and start to change the way 'the man in the street' took his music. Barber was one of the lucky ones early on who managed to get onto the radio and into our homes and into our heads. He brought his lively brand of small band jazz to the fore and was one of the prime-movers in the success of jazz in Britain.
Now, to me jazz is jazz - a musical form full of optimism and flair - a genre that allowed more freedom to express than much of what had gone before. Chris Barber, on his way to becoming a household name, was very much instrumental in the success of this musical form and encouraged many like-minded artists to go on to bigger things in their own right. Chris Barber, in many ways, was ahead of his time.
This tasty release tells it very much as it was; homely and innovative without ever being self-indulgent - music that most people could come to terms with - music that helped popularise jazz in the dismal '50's. Now it's available in modern format for all to enjoy again (or for the first time!) - unspoiled, untainted by modernisms - just how it was - just how it is!! Nice stuff!!
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