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Meet Ed Barker a renowned saxophonist from the UK who has spent the last few years touring with some of the music world’s biggest names.
Back in 2012 Barker played tenor saxophone and clarinet on tour with superstar George Michael, after which he began putting together his own material and released his debut solo sax album, Simple Truth, on January 9, 2014.
Now, Barker’s outstanding album is achieving increasing recognition in London and Los Angeles.
I caught up with Ed, who began his musical studies at the age of seven after hearing Acker Bilk’s “Stranger on the Shore” earlier this week in Los Angeles, check out our chat below…
SBGLA: What inspired you to choose the Saxophone over any other instrument?
EB: Well, the saxophone actually chose me! I was auditioning for the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) of Great Britain when I was 16 on clarinet. I got to the final audition and they sent a note around to all finalists a month before the audition, saying that if you played the saxophone, to bring it along and audition on it. They needed two saxophonists to play Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. I had no idea how to play the saxophone so I borrowed my sister’s saxophone – I don’t even think Annabelle knew I was borrowing it! – learnt the study and the fingerings and took it along to the audition. I played Paul Desmond’s solo on Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo a la Turk and the NYO had me as principal alto saxophonist and not on clarinet. Four weeks of playing and I was the leading sax player for Britain’s National Youth Orchestra – so I figured the saxophone had to be my instrument!
SBGLA: What was the first “Big” moment in your career as a musician?
EB: The hugest moment had to be being George Michael’s featured saxophone soloist. He announced me to tens of thousands of people every night on the tour as I played the solo on his 1993 hit single, Cowboys And Angels. I was up on the big screen and it really helped put me on the map. And it was so exhilarating having this guy, who has sold over 100 million albums and had countless number ones, introduce me as I played that beautiful solo.
SBGLA: Jazz Music is experiencing a revival amongst the new generation, why do you think that is and how does your music help that?
EB: I don’t think it really needs reviving – I think there always has been and always will be a following for music which has a great groove and a strong melody. The most inspiring thing for anyone to say to me after a show is that they’ve never been to a jazz gig before and yet they loved what we did on stage. Jazz is a hard thing to define and can often sound inaccessible to people so I just think, when I write and perform, that I’m trying to put together ‘popular music’. It’s all about the audience for me: if they like it it’s right, and if not it’s wrong. Maybe it’s that attitude that I have, combined with my emphasis on groove and strong melodies, that does my little bit to help ‘revive’ this kind of music.
SBGLA: What is the one piece of advice you would give yourself if you could speak to a younger you?
EB: Start the saxophone at 6 rather than 16! The best advice I could give anyone is just to love music in all its forms, to become intrigued by every type of music and artist and not to become too narrow-minded. There is just so much to learn and as my favourite composer, Sergei Rachmaninov, said, ‘Music is enough for a lifetime – but a lifetime is not enough for music.’ Every day, I learn something new about harmony, about orchestration, about playing the sax or the piano and I love it – life is one big music lesson and it should keep being fun, otherwise there’s no point doing any of it.
SBGLA: What are the best and worst parts of being a professional musician?
EB: The best part is the buzz of playing live on stage where everything could go totally wrong or magically right, every single second. And, of course, the world travel and hearing how different audiences react during and after the show – and then learning from that for the next day’s show! The worst part….I don’t think there is a worst part. Getting to play music, live, meet people in the audience and play in a different venue or country each night is a real pleasure and I feel very lucky to be able to do it.
SBGLA: Do you have any words of wisdom to give our readers?
ED: If you become obsessed about something, love it enough and see yourself doing something in the future, a bit of regular hard work will take you there. Nobody in this world is born with a gift: what people do is a product of their environment, learning and opportunities. I have been very fortunate to have been surrounded by people that have inspired me at every stage of my career and without my heroes in music, I wouldn’t have found the passion for it and simply wouldn’t be able to play in the way I do today.
SBGLA: What’s your favorite song or piece of music and why?
EB: You’d expect me to name a saxophonist and a jazz piece wouldn’t you? Well, I’m going to shock you and tell you that the most moving piece of music for me is Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard and every time I listen to it, I get that fuzzy feeling that music is supposed to inspire. When music does that to you, you know it’s a great piece of work. Shockingly, there are no saxophones in this piece but I get inspired by the orchestration and the harmony and, of course, the strong melodies. I hope I can write an orchestral album one day, featuring the saxophone of course.
SBGLA: What is a distinctly British Quality or personality trait that you have?
EB: Us Brits apologise a lot, we like to ‘queue’ (I think you say ‘line’ – we love standing in lines whenever we can!), we adore fish and chips and real ale served at room temperature and we like our English shoes and coats. I think I follow all these traditions!
SBGLA: Would you ever relocate to Los Angeles and why or why not?
EB: I’d be very hard pushed to leave Britain behind completely. Perhaps I can live in both places simultaneously. But LA is such a beautiful place – the sun, the sea, the wonderful people (not to mention the wine). I guess that’s why life is so entertaining because it can take so many unexpected turns: who knows where I’ll be living in a month, let alone a year or a lifetime.
For more information on Ed Barker, visit www.edbarker.co.uk
