Stan Barker

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Stan Barker
Born
Stan Barker

(1926-05-24)24 May 1926
Clitheroe, Lancashire, U.K.
Died2 July 1997(1997-07-02) (aged 71)
Clitheroe, Lancashire, U.K.
GenresJazz
InstrumentPiano
Formerly ofDigby Fairweather

Stan Barker (24 May 1926 – 2 July 1997) was an English jazz pianist from Clitheroe, Lancashire.

Early life

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Barker was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, the son of Richard and Winnie Barker; his parents were both musical.[1] As a child he learned to play harmonica and banjo, and to yodel. His school headmaster, Laurence Hardy, encouraged him to perform in concerts and shows.[2]

Career

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Barker played guitar and piano with the East Lancashire Regiment Band during his National Service in the Army. He was a recreational and part-time musician, playing popular music at weekend dance events. He began arranging music for ensembles as a side project, and was a musical director at a hotel for several years, and accompanied touring acts.[2]

Barker was a sales manager at age 50,[2] when he became a full-time jazz musician and formed the Stan Barker Trio. The Trio played with trombonist Roy Williams in 1991.[3] Barker did recordings and gigs with such artists as Digby Fairweather, Al Grey, Buddy Tate, Al Wood, and Billy Butterfield.[1]

In addition to teaching jazz, Barker taught in a variety of educational institutions, including the Royal Northern College of Music, the Belfast School of Music, Merseyside Arts, the Mid-Pennine Arts Association, South Wales Art Association and the Southport Arts Centre. A 1979 profile of Barker proposed that "his treatment of the classic standards, his inventiveness and sheer fluency, place him rightly in the same category as Oscar Peterson."[2]

Personal life

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Barker was married to Betty Barker; their son Kenneth was also a musician.[1][2] Barker died in 1997, at the age of 71.[1]

Discography

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References

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