Stan Barker
{{Short description|English jazz pianist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Stan Barker
| image =
| caption =
| image_size =
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Stan Barker
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|5|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = Clitheroe, Lancashire, U.K.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|7|2|1926|5|24|df=y}}
| death_place = Clitheroe, Lancashire, U.K.
| origin =
| instrument = Piano
| genre = Jazz
| occupation =
| years_active =
| label =
| past_member_of = Digby Fairweather
| website =
}}
Stan Barker (24 May 1926 – 2 July 1997) was an English jazz pianist from Clitheroe, Lancashire.
Early life
Barker was born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, the son of Richard and Winnie Barker; his parents were both musical.{{Cite news |last=Robson |first=Theresa |date=1997-07-02 |title=Farewell to jazz man Stan, king of the keys |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lancashire-telegraph-farewell-to-jazz-ma/174467669/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |work=Lancashire Telegraph |pages=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Storah |first=Peter |date=1979-05-25 |title=Mr. Jazz is striking note of optimism |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-mr-jazz-is-striking-note-o/174452129/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |work=Evening Star |pages=10 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Career
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.
Barker was a sales manager at age 50, when he became a full-time jazz musician and formed the Stan Barker Trio. The Trio played with trombonist Roy Williams in 1991.{{Cite news |last=Hoy |first=Alan |date=1991-04-30 |title=Slides ahead of his rivals |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/north-west-evening-mail-slides-ahead-of/174467074/ |access-date=2025-06-14 |work=North-West Evening Mail |pages=4 |via=Newspapers.com}} Barker did recordings and gigs with such artists as Digby Fairweather, Al Grey, Buddy Tate, Al Wood, and Billy Butterfield.
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."
Personal life
Discography
- Stan Barker Trio-Volume 1 (Very Rare) (Nelson Records)
- Stan Barker and Digby Fairweather: Let's Duet (Essex Records)
References
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Category:English jazz pianists