John Barnes
b. 15 May 1932, Manchester, Lancashire, England. Unusually, Barnes began his musical career as both a brass and reed player, but quickly abandoned the fluegelhorn in favour of the clarinet. At first he played traditional jazz with the Zenith Six, Mike Daniels's Delta Jazzmen and Alan Elsdon. By the mid-60s, however, when he was with Alex Welsh, Barnes had extended his stylistic range and had also started to play alto, soprano, baritone saxophones and flute. Barnes spent a decade with Welsh, and by the time he left, in 1977, he was widely regarded as the best baritone saxophonist in Europe and one of the best in the world. Since leaving Welsh he has worked with the Midnite Follies Orchestra, Humphrey Lyttelton, as co-leader of a small group with Roy Williams and with numerous visiting American jazz musicians.