For our next recital in May we move the focus from the piano to clarinet, reeds and piano in sensitive partnership and from established classical repertoire to pieces that have become new classics, ever open to rich and diverse interpretation through insightful musicianship.
Alan Barnes, clarinet/saxophone and David Newton, piano, perform the music of Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern from The Wizard of Oz and Showboat in a recital that promises to be joyous and revelatory, shining a clear light on the music for its own value, free of the screen and stage.
Alan and David have played as a duo since their college days, some 35 years ago.
Alan Barnes is a prolific international performer, composer, arranger, bandleader and touring soloist. He is best known for his work on clarinet, alto and baritone sax, where he combines a formidable virtuosity with a musical expression and collaborative spirit that have few peers.
His recorded catalogue is immense. He has made over thirty albums as leader and co-leader alone, and the list of his session and side-man work includes Bjork, Bryan Ferry, Michel LeGrande, Clare Teale, Westlife, Jools Holland and Jamie Cullum.
In British jazz, the young Barnes was recognized – and hired – by the established greats of the time: Stan Tracy, John Dankworth, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, and Humphrey Lyttelton. But he is equally respected for his longstanding and fruitful collaborations with contemporaries such as David Newton, Bruce Adams, and Martin Taylor.
Alan Barnes’s unique musicianship, indefatigable touring, and warm rapport with audiences have made him uniquely popular in British jazz. He has received over 25 British Jazz Awards, most recently in 2014 for clarinet, and has twice been made BBC Jazz Musician of the Year.
To quote Linn Records: “Pianist David Newton is, in Matt Skelton’s words, ‘one of our nation’s treasured pianists’. The man has a lovely touch; that is for certain. Scottish-born and educated at the Leeds College of Music, Newton’s recording career had begun in 1985 with Buddy De Franco and Martin Taylor and his first solo album was released in 1988. He’s been the accompanist of choice for vocal royalty for years, and it’s easy to hear why: Newton’s musical responsiveness is as impressive as his re-harmonization and arranging skills at the piano. Fittingly, Newton has been voted ‘Best Jazz Pianist’ in the British Jazz Awards for the thirteenth time in 2014 and was made a Fellow of Leeds College of Music in 2003”.