Introduction
Bob Barnard AM (born 24 November 1933) is an Australian trumpet and cornet player. He was nominated for the 1996 ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album with his album Live At The Sydney Opera House which was recorded with The Australian Jazz Allstars.
He is the younger brother of drummer Len Barnard.
Life and career
Barnard was born on November 24, 1933, into a musical family in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His parents had a dance band and he grew up surrounded by jazz music playing on the radio. As he recalled later, "My mother and father had a dance band, so music was always played at home. The radio stations in those days (during the war) were playing the 'hits,' including many associated with jazz."
When he was 11, Barnard had private lessons on the trumpet and joined a local brass band. Not long after, he joined the family dance band.
During 1947—55, he played with the band of his older brother, Len Barnard. He made his recording debut with his brother in 1949 and recorded on and off with Len's groups into the 1970s.
He first recorded as a leader in 1952.
Barnard freelanced with some of Australia's best trad musicians and in 1962 moved to Sydney. He played with pianist/composer Graeme Bell (1962-67), worked as a studio musician (1967-77), recorded a lot with multi-instrumentalists Don Burrows and John Sangster, and gigged with pianist Ralph Sutton, clarinetist Peanuts Hucko, and tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman, among others.
Since forming his own band in 1974, Barnard has frequently toured North America, Europe, India, and Asia, appearing in the United States at many classic jazz festivals and jazz parties.
Barnard has been documented fairly frequently since 1971, including for the Axis, Ata, Swaggie, Bix Lives, ABC, Calligraph, and Sackville labels.
Musical influences
Barnard considers his main influences to be Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, and Bobby Hackett. His favorite personal records through the years include Music to Midnight (a date with strings), Partners in Crime (with Ralph Sutton and Milt Hinton), The Hobbit Suite, The International Set (with pianist Dick Wellstood), and The Lord of the Rings.
Selected albums
- New York Notes (Sackville 3061 )
- What's New (Sackville 3064), with Ralph Sutton
- Partners in Crime (Sackville 2023)