| Barney’s Story |
| By day, Barney is an oceanographer but by night, he plays his trombones (tenor, alto and soprano) with some of the finest jazz musicians in Northern New England. Barney began his jazz career in Boston in the mid 1970s with Craig Ball, Dave McMillan and Jimmy Mazzy, as the "Dixie Cookbook", playing at the restaurant "Bettes Rolls Royce" in Haymarket Square. In 1978 he began performing with veteran stride pianist, Bob Page and the Downeast Jazz Babies (including blues guitarist, TJ Wheeler, and the late, great, Dick Cash). He still perfoms with Bob and the Jazz Babies and appears on two of Bob's CDs here and here. Barney’s latest CD can be found here. In 1980 Barney moved to Southern California and regularly performed with John Best (original lead trumpet with the Glenn Miller Orchestra). He also studied with the late, great Kansas City Blues Trombonist, Jimmy Cheatham. From 1988 to 1995, Barney performed with the Frank Hubble Big Band and Barrie Mann Orchestra in Miami, as well as other small combos. Since returning to Maine in the mid 1990s, Barney has had the good fortune to play with some of Northern New England's "swinging-est" jazz musicians: Dick Creeden, Muriel Havenstein, Pete Collins, Lefty McAuslin, Henry Berry, Dave Page, Jack Tukey, Dave Pierce to name just a few, in the collective known as the "Sheepscot Jazz and Swing Company". They feature tunes by Ellington, Basie, Goodman, Waller, Gershwin, Porter and more. The bottom line for SJ&SC is, if it swings, they play it! Since 1997, Barney also has been performing with "Novel Jazz" a musical co-op of fine, straight-ahead jazz musicians including Mike Mitchell, Bruce Boege, Mickey Felder, Mark Macksoud, Herb Maine, Dave Clarke, Jeff Densmore, Dan Clarke, Eric Davis, Terry Mooney along with other special guests, Brad Terry, Kenny Gaspar, Brent Strombeck, Paavo Carey, Nat Balch, Mike Whitehead, Fitz Jenkins and others. Novel Jazz has just released their new CD, “Novel Ellington and Strayhorn”, available from CDBABY.com (http: //cdbaby.com/cd/noveljazz) or Maine locations: “Maine Coast Books” (Damariscotta), “Big Daves” (Damariscotta), Mexicali Blues (Newcastle) or Skidompha Public Library (Damariscotta). Come to the Skidompha Public Library on Main Street in Damariscotta, Maine, where they perform a monthly session titled "Jazz Amongst the Books", in the library atrium. |
Sheepscot Jazz & Swing Company 48 King’s Highway Newcastle, ME 04553 207-586-5255 bbalch@bigelow.org |
What the critics are saying about “Novel Ellington and Strayhorn”
“…These are all seasoned jazz guys, and the result is a sound that made
me sway, smile, groove, slow-dance with myself around the living room
and play the air snare drums.” “Note to self: Bring this disc to work and
impress jazz-appreciating boss.”
-- Aimsel Ponti, Critic- Portland Press Herald
“…These are all seasoned jazz guys, and the result is a sound that made
me sway, smile, groove, slow-dance with myself around the living room
and play the air snare drums.” “Note to self: Bring this disc to work and
impress jazz-appreciating boss.”
-- Aimsel Ponti, Critic- Portland Press Herald
