Stomp and circumstance?

I have to confess, we didn't watch any of the footage of the Platinum Party at the Palace yesterday. As much as we love Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers, Jax Jones and Sam Ryder, as much as Queen and Rod Stewart are "national institutions" - and as much as we want to see whether Miss Ross's frock upstaged Dame Elton's - I think we'll just wait for the highlights on YouTube.

Suffice to say, this snippet stole all the headlines:

Today it's the turn of the carnival-style "Pageant" traversing through central London, footage of which might be interesting.

So, to other matters...

It is my last day of freedom before the madness of work resumes tomorrow (and will do so in perpetuity, at least until our next break (in Amsterdam) in August), and the weather's a bit shit again, so you can imagine the mood I am in today. We really need some proper "Sunday Music" to ease the furrowed brow - and who better than that fine old British institution the late, great Chris Barber, and a rather appropriately-titled Trad Jazz number?

The Big Chris Barber Band - Jubilee Stomp

I feel better already.

Hep Cat, RIP

They've all gone now - Acker Bilk, Humphrey Lyttelton, George Melly, Kenny Ball, John Chilton, George Chisolm - and yesterday, Mr Chris Barber joined the "most remarkable trad jazz band ever" in Fabulon...

Lonnie Donegan, Ken Colyer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Monty Sunshine and Jools Holland - he played with them all! Unsurprising, really, since at the time of his retirement in 2019, he had led his band almost continuously for 70 years.

By way of a tribute, here are just two of his remarkable numbers [for more, see my previous tribute on the occasion of his 90th birthday last April]:

Chris Barber's Jazz Band - Sweet Georgia Brown

Chris Barber's Jazz Band - South Rampart Street Parade

So sad, now that Mr Barber's gone and the specialists of his ilk are getting rarer amongst younger generations, to experience a genre we love so much slowly sinking into [especially in mainstream broadcast terms, with the misguided axing of Clare Teal from BBC Radio 2] oblivion, generally disregarded in popular culture. Fingers crossed that its last bastion, live music, will make a resurgence in post-vaccination 2021!

We at Dolores Delargo Towers urge you [if, of course, it is available to you] to tune into Miss Teal at her new home of Jazz FM.

This Sunday I have no doubt she will be doing her own tribute to Mr Barber. He deserves it.

RIP Donald Christopher Barber OBE (17th April 1930 – 2nd March 2021)

A good Barber is hard to find

Having enjoyed our "Trad Jazz moment" earlier this week so much, I was overjoyed to discover that one of the last surviving maestros of that pre-Beatles era Mr Chris Barber celebrated his 90th birthday yesterday - which gives me the perfect excuse to post a little bit more of the same...

Chris Barber and his Band - Ice Cream/Down By The Riverside

Chris Barber and his Band - Petite Fleur

Chris Barber & Ottilie Patterson - Steamboat Bill (Six-Five Special)

Many happy returns, Donald Christopher Barber OBE (born 17th April 1930)