Alan Barnes is one of Britain's most prolific and best-loved jazz musicians — an international performer, composer, arranger and bandleader best known for his virtuosic work on clarinet, alto and baritone saxophone. Few musicians combine his technical command with such warmth, wit and collaborative spirit.
BIOGRAPHY
For more than three decades, Alan Barnes has been a first-call saxophonist and clarinettist for studio and live work across the UK and beyond. His recorded catalogue runs to more than thirty albums as leader or co-leader, alongside session and sideman credits with artists as varied as Björk, Bryan Ferry, Michel Legrand, Clare Teal, Westlife, Jools Holland and Jamie Cullum.
He has toured and held residencies with some of jazz's most demanding names, including Ruby Braff, Freddie Hubbard, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vaché, Ken Peplowski, Harry Allen and Conte Candoli. Early in his career, he was singled out and hired by the giants of British jazz — Stan Tracey, John Dankworth, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber and Humphrey Lyttelton — and he has built equally lasting creative partnerships with contemporaries David Newton, Bruce Adams and Martin Taylor.
Alan's musicianship, relentless touring schedule and natural rapport with audiences have made him one of the most popular figures in British jazz. He has won more than 25 British Jazz Awards — most recently for clarinet in 2014 — and has twice been named BBC Jazz Musician of the Year.