Barry Guy

by Scott Yanow
The leader of an exciting avant-garde big band called the London Jazz Composers Orchestra beginning in 1970, Barry Guy is one of the top free-form string bassists, able to get a wide variety of unusual sounds out of his instrument. Classically trained, Guy has had simultaneous careers in advanced jazz and contemporary classical music. He was in the Spontaneous Music Ensemble with Trevor Watts and John Stevens (1967-1970), has played in a variety of adventurous small groups (including Amalgam and Iskra 1903), and has recorded often with Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, and the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, including for his own Maya label.