‘Black Bob’

His B-flat Bombardon and the Yorkshire Jazz Band

Authors

  • Val Wilmer Jazz writer and photographer Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.37827

Keywords:

black jazz musicians, Bob Barclay, trad jazz, tuba

Abstract

Bob Barclay (1911-1987) was the tuba player and leader of the Yorkshire Jazz Band and one of the few black musicians in the British revivalist (trad) scene of the 1950s and 1960s. The article describes the career of the YJB through interviews with its members, their associates and contemporary press coverage. It discusses the importance of Barclay's Studio 20 in Leeds as a meeting point for touring jazz musicians and other entertainers, both British and American. Barclay's situation as a person of colour on the jazz scene and in wider English society is considered.

Author Biography

  • Val Wilmer, Jazz writer and photographer

    Val Wilmer is a long-established jazz writer and photographer. Her books include Jazz People (1970), The Face of Black Music (1976), As Serious as Your Life (1977, republished 2018), Mama Said There'd be Days Like This (1989) and Portrait of the Blues (with Paul Trynka, 1996). She has written for numerous periodicals and currently is a contributor to Jazzwise, The Guardian and The Wire. Her photographs have been widely exhibited and reproduced in jazz biographies and encyclopaedias.

References

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Published

2018-12-29

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Wilmer, V. (2018). ‘Black Bob’: His B-flat Bombardon and the Yorkshire Jazz Band. Popular Music History, 11(2), 121-154. https://doi.org/10.1558/pomh.37827