Bill Barber

Even tuba players who don't need a haircut will remember this Barber. While the tuba was a normal part of the rhythm section in the beginning eras of jazz, by the time Bill Barber took an interest in the music it was the string bass that was holding down the harmonic roots and interlocking with the drums to create that swing thing. Meanwhile, Barber was busy doing what tuba players did, playing in orchestras and concert bands. By the mid-'40s, he was beginning to wade in the waters of various jazz big bands that were attempting to be innovative, some succeeding nobly. Barber had a continual presence in the genre from this point on -- and he is often said to be the first tuba player to perform modern jazz. His involvement in the Miles Davis and Gil Evans projects means this Barber's musical haircuts have been enjoyed by the widest jazz listening audience possible. Barber's credentials are impressive, including studies at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music. Prior to joining the Army in 1942, he spent a period in the Midwest, playing in the Kansas City Philharmonic as well as several ballet and theater orchestras. Charlie Ventura and Claude Thornhill were some of the first bandleaders to utilize this tuba man in postwar times, the latter man also a link to the young Davis. In the '50s, Barber was part of the Sauter-Finegan mob as well as contributing to the impressive arrangements of Evans at the end of the decade. In the '60s he was also associated with the Nassau-Suffolk Symphony Orchestra, and has continued his alliance with this part of his musical background.
© Eugene Chadbourne /TiVo