Leigh Barker performing with Branford Marsalis at the Sydney Opera House

News

National Tour Spring 2011 We are hitting the road again to promote the new album, look out for us at these venues! ‘The New Sheiks’ with special guest Heather Stewart on vocals and violin, and featuring the triumphant return from Paris of our pianist and accordionist Matt Boden! Formidable! (read it in a French accent….) We will put up FULL gig details soon – plus some more gigs, so keep looking and get googling….

please go here for full gig details and links for booking:

http://listn.to/LeighBarkerJazz

WEDNESDAYS OCT 12th (with special guests - Sarah McKenzie and Mark Sutton) and 19th – Bennetts Lane Jazz Cub, Melbourne

THURSDAY OCT 20 - Babushka Bar, Ballarat

FRIDAY OCT 21 - The Jazz Basement, Wodonga

SATURDAY OCT 22 - Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne

SUNDAY OCT 23 - Brookfield Margate Winery, Hobart 5pm

TUESDAY OCT 25 -  Launceston Jazz Club, Royal Oak, Launceston

FRIDAY OCT 28 - The Palais, Hepburn Springs - 'Swiss Italian Festa'

SATURDAY OCT 29 and OCT 30 - Wangaratta Jazz Festival

TUESDAY NOV 1 - Venue 505, Surry Hills, Sydney

WEDNESDAY NOV 2 - Lunchtime concert - 12 - 3pm in Wollongong, Corrimal Leagues Club, ph 4285 1903

WEDNESDAY NOV 2 -  Hippo Bar, Canberra

THURSDAY NOV 3 - ‘Jazz at the Loft’ – Dickson, Canberra

FRIDAY NOV 4 - Air Raid Tavern, Moruya

SATURDAY NOV 5 - The Quarterdeck, Narooma

SUNDAY NOV 6 – The Camelot Lounge, Marrickville, Sydney

Also check out our new CD buying widget to the right – but it won’t work on your iphone yet!

Australian Jazz Bell Awards We won!!! 'The New Sheiks has been awarded the 2011 award for 'Best Traditional Jazz Album' which is a great honour. Please check out the Bell Awards website and maybe buy the album off CDbaby as well! You can get it as a digital download for instant gratification! http://www.bellawards.org/index2.php Also come hear us at the Stonnington Jazz Festival on Friday May 27th, that will be a cracker of a concert!

STONNINGTON JAZZ FESTIVAL http://www.stonningtonjazz.com.au/2011-Program/Leigh-Barker---the-New-Sheiks-AND-Bobstretch The New Sheiks' has been officially launched and is now available for purchase at Cdbaby.com, as well as at 'Title' CD stores around the country, titlespace.com. It is also available on iTunes, as well as all the other major internet music downlaod sites. Look out in 2011 for the band around Australia on tour.

'The New Sheiks' has been officially launched and is now available for purchase at Cdbaby.com. It will also be available on iTunes shortly, as well as all the other major internet music downlaod sites. Look out in 2011 for the band around Australia on tour.

Old News

In November 2010 we are touring again!! Leigh Barker and the New Sheiks, launching the brand new CD 'The New Sheiks' at these venues and dates. Featuring various guest at various gigs, including Sarah McKenzie on piano, Heather Stewart on vocals, Don Stewart on trombone, Anthony Schulz on accordion. It's going to be a big month! Come down, say hi, and buy the new CD!

MONDAY NOV 1 - 303 Club, 303 High St Northcote

TUESDAY NOV 2 - 505 Jazz Club, 280 Cleveland St, Surry Hills, Sydney

WEDNESDAY NOV 3 - God's Cafe, Australian National University, Canberra

FRIDAY NOV 5 - Paris Cat Jazz Club, Goldie Place, Melbourne

SUNDAY NOV 14 - Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne

MARCH NEWS

Its 2010 and I have the great honour of being the featured support artist for the Branford Marsalis Quartet tour of Australia! Budget restrictions mean it will be a trio, the first time I've toured with a trio under my own name. I will be joined in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney by my great colleagues Tom Vincent on Piano and Hugh Harvey on drums. In Melbourne, for the Hamer Hall concert, we will be joined by my longtime favourite collaborator, Eamon McNelis on trumpet.

This tour is in March, and look out for our extra club shows, on Sunday March 14 at the Ellington Jazz Club in Perth, and Saturday the 20th of March at the brand new '505' club in Sydney. You never know, we might even get some very special guests.....

Check out Branford's dates on the web.

March 15th - Perth

March 16th - Melbourne

March 18th - Brisbane

March 19th - Sydney

In 2009 I decided to focus on our spin off group, 'The Sheiks'. The Sheiks have held the sunday residency in the Federation Square Atrium for the last 3 years. Usually just bass, trumpet and accordion, I would often add drums or another horn, so it was a very blurry line between the Leigh Barker Quintet and the Sheiks! Our pianist Matt Boden has been playing accordion when there is no piano available, and as he lives in Paris now we usually feature Anthony Schulz on accordion.

Therefore this year I booked a few gigs around Melbourne as 'The New Sheiks', and we had three different lineups, including Al McGrath and Phil Collings on drums, Eamon McNelis on trumpet, Julian Banks on saxophone, Don Stewart on trombone and Anthony Schulz on accordion. So we had a great mish-mash of the Leigh Barker Quintet and The Sheiks, and three great swingin nights out.

I'm off to France, Denmark and America this winter so keep a look out for more Sheiks gigs later in the year.