Double Bassist Leigh Barker is touring Australia this spring with his band ‘The New Sheiks’.
In May 2011 Leigh was awarded the ‘Australian Jazz Bell Award’ for ‘Best Traditional Jazz Album’, which inspired Leigh to hit the road with the six-piece band from the CD of the same name.
Barker has toured Australia extensively before, usually with a Quintet. In 2010 he was asked to be the support act for Jazz superstar Branford Marsalis, which culminated with Leigh performing an encore with Branford at the Sydney Opera House.
He has been calling his group ‘The New Sheiks’ since 2009, referencing a trio formed in 2005 that trumpeter Eamon McNelis affectionately referred to as ‘The Sheiks’ and also the 1930′s blues band the ‘Mississippi Sheiks’. (Who in turn were referencing the song ‘Sheik of Araby’, ‘Sheik’ being 1920′s slang for a debonair ladies man).
‘The New Sheiks’ CD and touring band features Leigh on the double bass, Eamon McNelis on trumpet, Don Stewart on Trombone, Matt Boden on Piano and Piano Accordion, and Al McGrath-Kerr on drums. They are also travelling with renowned Melbourne blues singer, Heather Stewart. This year Heather has won the ‘Vic/Tas Blues Awards’ for best debut album and best female artist and 2010 won the award for best self-produced album.
Heather sings classic blues from Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Robert Johnson and Leadbelly, as well as dipping in to Jazz repertoire from Billie Holiday and the other Jazz greats. Leigh has been adapting the early blues material and combining it with Jazz and compositions from the other band members, to create a mix of Jazz, Swing and Blues that is unique and accessible.
Eamon is well known to Jazz audiences around Australia, and is a master of all styles of the trumpet from the history of Jazz. In 2010 he won the ‘National Jazz Award’ at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival.
Don Stewart has played around the world with the finest traditional Jazz groups, including the Graeme Bell band and Fireworks Jazz. He is also a member of popular Melbourne group ‘The Band Who Knew Too Much’.
Pianist Matt Boden lives in Paris, France but is originally Tasmanian. His dedication to swing and real acoustic music means that he plays a piano accordion when there is no piano available.
Drummer Al McGrath Kerr has played with many Australian greats and also opened a concert for Cuban piano master Chucho Valdes in 2010.
