Guy Barker

Guy Barker

Guy Barker is an English jazz trumpeter and composer from Chiswick, London, born in 1957. He starts playing the trumpet at the age of twelve and joins the National Youth Jazz Orchestra within a year. His family background includes an actress mother and a stuntman father.

Career

In 1975, Barker takes lessons from Clark Terry. During the 1980s he plays with John Dankworth, Gil Evans, Lena Horne and Bobby Watson. He tours and records with Gil Evans’ orchestra in 1983. From 1984 to 1992 he is a member of Clark Tracey’s quintet, and he continues to perform with Tracey, as well as with Stan Tracey.

Collaborations and sideman work

As a sideman, Barker works with Ornette Coleman, Carla Bley, Georgie Fame, Mike Westbrook, Frank Sinatra, Colin Towns, Chris Hunter, Mike Oldfield, Cleo Laine and XTC. He is also associated with the Carla Bley Big Band, the Stan Tracey Octet, the Strictly Unreasonable Zang Tuum Tumb Big Beat Colossus, the Onslaught Orchestra, and Guy Barker’s Big Band.

Own band

Barker leads his own ensemble, the Guy Barker International Quintet, and also composes for it. The group includes Perico Sambeat on alto saxophone, Bernardo Sassetti on piano, Geoff Gascoyne on bass and Gene Calderazzo on drums, bringing together musicians from Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.