Guy Barker
Guy Barker's career has moved through several distinct phases, travelling along a linear course from jazz soloist and sideman, through bandleader, composer and latterly one of the most in- demand arrangers in Europe, while at the same time shooting off into fascinating tangents, with forays into theatre and movies. The late Anthony Minghella, a long-time admirer, asked Guy to arrange music for two of his films, The Talented Mr Ripley and The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. He said of Guy: 'Guy Barker is that rare thing - a brilliant soloist, a born leader and a generous accompanist. He can play so your heart breaks or your head swivels.'
A staggeringly accomplished musician with an affinity for all styles of music, Guy’s distinctive trumpet sound can be heard across a wide range of genres. In the instrumental jazz field, he has worked with Gil Evans, Ornette Coleman, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Nat Adderley, Hermeto Pascal, Joe Henderson, Carla Bley, John Dankworth, Stan Tracey, Billy Cobham and many others. The world of the Great American Song Book led him to tour with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Lena Horne, Liza Minnelli, and Mel Tormé. In the classical sphere he has performed with Lesley Garrett, Willard White and the LSO, RPO, Britten Sinfonia, Hong Kong Philharmonic and London Chamber Orchestra. Guy has also recorded eight solo albums, two of which were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. As The Sunday Times put it: ‘The ability of Guy Barker to adapt to vastly different environments is little short of astonishing.’
During the eighties and nineties London’s studio scene was buzzing. As a result, Guy, like many British jazz musicians, found himself playing sessions for the country’s top rock and pop performers. The list is a who's who of hit-makers and includes Paul Weller, Sting, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Phil Collins, Grace Jones, Peter Gabriel, and George Michael. Guy has also presented more than a dozen radio series for BBC Radio 2, 3 and the World Service and found himself on the West End stage being directed by Sir Peter Hall, playing and acting (just a little) alongside Eddie Izzard in Lenny.
Composing and arranging was always an important part of his musical life, but over the last fifteen years, it has developed to the point where Guy is constantly in demand for those skills. This was a gradual progress, but a key moment, when he realised that his future lay in that direction, was when he was Musical Director for an awards programme, where Quincy Jones was amongst those being honoured. Guy composed an original piece for fifteen musicians to open the proceedings. The next morning he received a call saying Quincy would like a copy of the score.
Since that time, the majority of his work has been for large orchestral settings, as well as arranging for many great singers. Sting invited Guy to re-arrange one of his songs for him to sing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; since 2008 he has been the Musical Director and arranger for the annual Jazz Voice concert at the Barbican, which opens the London Jazz Festival. This involves arrangements for a 42-piece orchestra and collaborating and arranging for renowned singers, including Kurt Elling, Jamie Cullum, Gregory Porter, Paloma Faith, Melody Gardot, Ian Shaw, Patti Austin, Lizz Wright, Kandace Springs, as well as many up-and-coming vocalists. He performs a similar function at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival every year and Guy has formed long-lasting working relationships with many of the singers from both events.
In 2012, Guy composed, along with guitarist Martin Taylor, an orchestral suite dedicated to Django Rheinhardt, which he conducted in that season's BBC Proms. He also became a patron of Brass for Africa, which initiates and supports music education programs for extremely disadvantaged children in the slums and orphanages of Uganda.
In 2013, the world of film called once more. He was asked to arrange music for the opening of the Cannes Film Festival as a tribute to Steven Spielberg. He was also appointed Associate Composer for the BBC Concert Orchestra (BBCCO). The first work to grow out of this relationship was That Obscure Hurt, a 90-minute piece for 75 musicians, featuring the great American singer Kurt Elling and actress Janie Dee, with a libretto/narrative by author Robert Ryan, which had its world premiere at Snape Maltings.
The following year (2014) saw Guy arrange and co-produce Alison Balsom’s album Paris, then arrange and conduct a Prom for Paloma Faith, featuring a 42-piece orchestra and 35-piece choir, followed by the premiere at the London Jazz Festival of his Soho Symphony for the BBCCO, composed and arranged purely for symphony orchestra. This was an instrumental love-letter to a part of London – and its pubs, coffee bars, jazz clubs and, above all, its cast of characters - that has played a pivotal role in both his personal and musical life. A busy and fulfilling year culminated in Guy being recognized in the 2014 New Years Honours List, with the award of an M.B.E.
That, however, was a waymarker on a continuing career rather than any form of punctuation. In 2015 there followed a new trumpet concerto for Alison Balsom, The Lanterne of Light (a re- working of the Seven Deadly Sins), which was premiered at the Proms. Guy also arranged the album Twelve O’clock Tales for singer Clare Teal, which featured the Halle Orchestra; the BBC commissioned him to compose a violin concerto for Charles Mutter, the leader of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and he received another commission to a create a cello concerto. There is, as always, the annual Jazz Voice concert to arrange and conduct and in 2016 the Royal Albert Hall invited Guy to put together a Big Band Christmas Show in December, also now an annual event which has featured Kurt Elling, Clarke Peters, Clare Teal, Mica Paris and other special guests.
Future plans include working with Kurt Elling on a jazz radio play, The Big Blind, to be performed at New York’s Lincoln Centre in 2019. Two more concertos are in development plus there is a big band collaboration with the Kansas Smitty’s House Band in prospect and a long-cherished project that will see the Soho Symphony turned into a film.
Tom Neale.
Guy Barker's career has moved through several distinct phases, travelling along a linear course from jazz soloist and sideman, through bandleader, composer and latterly one of the most in- demand arrangers in Europe, while at the same time shooting off into fascinating tangents, with forays into theatre and movies. The late Anthony Minghella, a long-time admirer, asked Guy to arrange music for two of his films, The Talented Mr Ripley and The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. He said of Guy: 'Guy Barker is that rare thing - a brilliant soloist, a born leader and a generous accompanist. He can play so your heart breaks or your head swivels.'
A staggeringly accomplished musician with an affinity for all styles of music, Guy’s distinctive trumpet sound can be heard across a wide range of genres. In the instrumental jazz field, he has worked with Gil Evans, Ornette Coleman, Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Nat Adderley, Hermeto Pascal, Joe Henderson, Carla Bley, John Dankworth, Stan Tracey, Billy Cobham and many others. The world of the Great American Song Book led him to tour with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Lena Horne, Liza Minnelli, and Mel Tormé. In the classical sphere he has performed with Lesley Garrett, Willard White and the LSO, RPO, Britten Sinfonia, Hong Kong Philharmonic and London Chamber Orchestra. Guy has also recorded eight solo albums, two of which were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. As The Sunday Times put it: ‘The ability of Guy Barker to adapt to vastly different environments is little short of astonishing.’
During the eighties and nineties London’s studio scene was buzzing. As a result, Guy, like many British jazz musicians, found himself playing sessions for the country’s top rock and pop performers. The list is a who's who of hit-makers and includes Paul Weller, Sting, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Phil Collins, Grace Jones, Peter Gabriel, and George Michael. Guy has also presented more than a dozen radio series for BBC Radio 2, 3 and the World Service and found himself on the West End stage being directed by Sir Peter Hall, playing and acting (just a little) alongside Eddie Izzard in Lenny.
Composing and arranging was always an important part of his musical life, but over the last fifteen years, it has developed to the point where Guy is constantly in demand for those skills. This was a gradual progress, but a key moment, when he realised that his future lay in that direction, was when he was Musical Director for an awards programme, where Quincy Jones was amongst those being honoured. Guy composed an original piece for fifteen musicians to open the proceedings. The next morning he received a call saying Quincy would like a copy of the score.
Since that time, the majority of his work has been for large orchestral settings, as well as arranging for many great singers. Sting invited Guy to re-arrange one of his songs for him to sing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; since 2008 he has been the Musical Director and arranger for the annual Jazz Voice concert at the Barbican, which opens the London Jazz Festival. This involves arrangements for a 42-piece orchestra and collaborating and arranging for renowned singers, including Kurt Elling, Jamie Cullum, Gregory Porter, Paloma Faith, Melody Gardot, Ian Shaw, Patti Austin, Lizz Wright, Kandace Springs, as well as many up-and-coming vocalists. He performs a similar function at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival every year and Guy has formed long-lasting working relationships with many of the singers from both events.
In 2012, Guy composed, along with guitarist Martin Taylor, an orchestral suite dedicated to Django Rheinhardt, which he conducted in that season's BBC Proms. He also became a patron of Brass for Africa, which initiates and supports music education programs for extremely disadvantaged children in the slums and orphanages of Uganda.
In 2013, the world of film called once more. He was asked to arrange music for the opening of the Cannes Film Festival as a tribute to Steven Spielberg. He was also appointed Associate Composer for the BBC Concert Orchestra (BBCCO). The first work to grow out of this relationship was That Obscure Hurt, a 90-minute piece for 75 musicians, featuring the great American singer Kurt Elling and actress Janie Dee, with a libretto/narrative by author Robert Ryan, which had its world premiere at Snape Maltings.
The following year (2014) saw Guy arrange and co-produce Alison Balsom’s album Paris, then arrange and conduct a Prom for Paloma Faith, featuring a 42-piece orchestra and 35-piece choir, followed by the premiere at the London Jazz Festival of his Soho Symphony for the BBCCO, composed and arranged purely for symphony orchestra. This was an instrumental love-letter to a part of London – and its pubs, coffee bars, jazz clubs and, above all, its cast of characters - that has played a pivotal role in both his personal and musical life. A busy and fulfilling year culminated in Guy being recognized in the 2014 New Years Honours List, with the award of an M.B.E.
That, however, was a waymarker on a continuing career rather than any form of punctuation. In 2015 there followed a new trumpet concerto for Alison Balsom, The Lanterne of Light (a re- working of the Seven Deadly Sins), which was premiered at the Proms. Guy also arranged the album Twelve O’clock Tales for singer Clare Teal, which featured the Halle Orchestra; the BBC commissioned him to compose a violin concerto for Charles Mutter, the leader of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and he received another commission to a create a cello concerto. There is, as always, the annual Jazz Voice concert to arrange and conduct and in 2016 the Royal Albert Hall invited Guy to put together a Big Band Christmas Show in December, also now an annual event which has featured Kurt Elling, Clarke Peters, Clare Teal, Mica Paris and other special guests.
Future plans include working with Kurt Elling on a jazz radio play, The Big Blind, to be performed at New York’s Lincoln Centre in 2019. Two more concertos are in development plus there is a big band collaboration with the Kansas Smitty’s House Band in prospect and a long-cherished project that will see the Soho Symphony turned into a film.
Tom Neale.
Compilations with this composer
Compilations
