Alan Barnes

Alan Barnes (born 23 July 1959) is an English jazz saxophone and clarinet player.

Career Between 1977 and 1980, Barnes attended Leeds College of Music, where he studied saxophone, woodwinds and arranging before moving to London. In 1980, he played with the Midnight Follies Orchestra and the following year was with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, touring Europe until 1983.

During 1997–99, Barnes began to record a large number of sessions with pianist Brian Lemon on the Zephyr label, including albums with Warren Vache, Ken Peplowski, Tony Coe, Roy Williams and his own octet and nonet. He performed as a member of Clark Tracey's Tribute to Art Blakey and was featured on the David Newton/Clark Tracey recording Bootleg Eric.

In 1999, he toured America and Europe with Bryan Ferry's band, returning to the United States in early 2000 to record and tour for ten weeks with Warren Vache's eleven-piece band - a project for which Barnes had written most of the arrangements. A band with Don Weller, celebrating the music of Cannonball Adderley, recorded a live album Cannonball which was awarded album of the year in the 2001 British Jazz Awards. In the same year he received the BBC Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year award. That November Barnes featured on baritone at the Blue Note Clubs in New York and Tokyo with the Charlie Watts Tentet and followed this with a stay in South Africa as a solo artist.

A regular broadcaster over a ten-year period with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra, he has toured and recorded with big band leaders, Dick Walter, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, Don Weller, Stan Tracey and Mike Westbrook. Other bands he has toured and recorded with include the Gary Potter quartet, playing the music of Django Reinhardt, the Tina May Trio with Nikki Iles, Bill LeSage's Genetically Modified Quintet, and Spike Robinson's Tenor Madness. Barnes has also appeared as a session musician on albums by Selina Jones, Björk, Van Morrison, Bryan Ferry and can also be found on film and television soundtracks and jingles such as the Tetley Bitter series of adverts featuring his solo baritone.

Awards Best Instrumentalist, BBC Jazz Awards, 2001, 2006 Clarinet, British Jazz Awards, 2016 In the Marston's Pedigree British Jazz Awards, Barnes won the alto and clarinet sections five times and the baritone section three times. 2004: The Marbella Jazz Suite (Big Bear) 2005: Yeah! (Specific Jazz) 2006: Blessing in Disguise (Woodville) 2011: Inside Out (Woodville) 2014: The Cobbler's Waltz (Woodville) 2014: Live at the Watermill (Woodville) 2015: One for Moll (Woodville) 2015: A Jazz Christmas Carol (Woodville) 2006: Zootcase (Woodville) 2015: Oh Gee (Woodville)

With Tony Coe 1998: Shine (Zephyr) 1998: Days of Wine and Roses (Zephyr)

With John Horler 2004: Stablemates (Woodville)

With Brian Lemon 1996: A Sleeping Bee (Zephyr) 1997: Young Minds–Old Hands (Zephyr) 1997: Play Jerome Kern: Yesterdays (Zephyr)

With David Newton 1993: Like Minds (Fret) 2000: Summertime (Concord) 2001: Manhattan feat. Conte Candoli (Concord)

With Alan Plater 2004: Songs for Unsung Heroes (Woodville) 2006: Seven Ages of Jazz (Woodville)

With Martin Taylor 2011: Two for the Road (Woodville)

As guest 1995: Post – Björk (One Little Indian) 1989: Avalon Sunset – Van Morrison (Polydor/Umgd) 1985: Straight Eight – Tommy Whittle (Miles Music) 1996: Off Beaten Track – Mick Talbot & Steve White (New Note) 1997: The Don Weller Big Band Live (33 Jazz) 1997: Revisited – Jim Richardson's Pogo (Spotlite) 1997: Lay 'em Straight! – Humphrey Lyttelton (Calligraph) 1998: Bootleg Eric – David Newton and Clark Tracey (Asc) 1999: As Time Goes By – Bryan Ferry (Virgin) 2000: John Williams' Baritone Band – John Williams' Baritone Band (Spotlite) 2003: Live and Swinging – Pete York Jazz All Stars (Nagel Heyer) 2004: Twentysomething – Jamie Cullum (Verve) 2007: Barnestorming – Alan Barnes/Harry Allen (Woodville) 2007: Nine Songs – Don Weller/Bobby Wellins (Trio) 2013: Ninick - Remi Harris (Big Bear) 2015: The Kofi/Barnes Aggregation with Tony Kofi (Woodville)