John LaBarbera

John LaBarbera ( born November 10, 1945 in Warsaw (New York)) is an American trumpeter of modern jazz, which has emerged primarily as an arranger.

Life and work

LaBarbera comes from a musical family - his brothers are the drummer Joe LaBarbera and the woodwinds Pat LaBarbera. He received music lessons from his father; He started five years cornet to learn and already played seven years with his parents and brothers in the family band. After studying at Berklee College of Music, he worked from 1968 Buddy Rich, where he also accompanied Tony Bennett. He then moved to the directed by Buddy DeFranco Glen Miller Orchestra, where he revised the old arrangements. Then he wrote arrangements for Rich, Woody Herman and Count Basie; He also was heard on recordings with Horace Arnold and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

In subsequent years, he also arranged for Dizzy Gillespie, Sammy Davis Jr., Mel Torme, Chaka Khan, Harry James, Bill Watrous (The Tiger of San Pedro), Al Cohn, Bill Perkins and Phil Woods. Furthermore, John co-founded the Women's Jazz Diva. LaBarbera directed the jazz ensemble at Cornell University and has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville Jazz, Music Industry and MIDI / computer techniques in music.

He led his own big band, with whom he has recorded two albums; the album On the Wild Side was nominated for a Grammy in 2004.

Lexical entries

• Philippe Carles, André Clergeat, Jean -Louis Comolli: Le nouveau dictionnaire du jazz. R. Laffont: Paris 2011; ISBN 978-2-221-11592-3
• Wolf Kampmann: Reclam Jazz Encyclopedia. Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5.