# Barbara Jay

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**Barbara Jay** (born 15 August 1932) is a British [jazz](/source/Jazz) singer.[1]

Barbara Jay grew up in a musical family, her father playing trumpet with many of the leading bands of the time. She took naturally to singing and by the 1960s she was working with top British Jazz musicians including [Ronnie Scott](/source/Ronnie_Scott) and [Don Lusher](/source/Don_Lusher).

As a solo Jazz singer Jay has shared the billing at [Ronnie Scott's](/source/Ronnie_Scott's) club with [Horace Silver](/source/Horace_Silver), [Pharoah Sanders](/source/Pharoah_Sanders), [George Chisholm](/source/George_Chisholm_(musician)) and [Dave Holland](/source/Dave_Holland_(bassist)). More recently she has worked with [Jon Hendricks](/source/Jon_Hendricks) in Cabaret on the Saga Ruby Cruise ship and P&O Oriana.

In 1970 she was chosen to sing with [Benny Goodman](/source/Benny_Goodman) and his orchestra on an extensive European tour and appeared in many major cities, including Paris, Milan, Copenhagen and Zurich. She also performed at the Carnegie Tavern in New York where she was accompanied by [Ellis Larkins](/source/Ellis_Larkins).[1] In 1993 she devised the very successful "Ella Fitzgerald Songbook Show" which has been performed at major venues and Festivals throughout Britain and also with her own quartet at the Pizza on the Park Knightstbridge, London. She appeared frequently with her saxophonist husband [Tommy Whittle](/source/Tommy_Whittle) (he died in October 2013) and has performed extensively on British television and radio. She has also appeared at many European festivals including Nice and Cork.[1] In December 2012, she appeared as a contributor to the [BBC Four](/source/BBC_Four) TV documentary “[Len Goodman](/source/Len_Goodman)’s Dancing Feet: the British Ballroom Story” describing her experiences singing for dance bands in the 1950s.

## Discography

- *The Nearness of You* (Tee-Jay, 1982)
- *Memories of You* (Tee-Jay, 1988)
- *Just Friends* (Spotlite, 1997)
- *The Ella Fitzgerald Songbook Revisited* (Spotlite, 2000)
- *Reminiscing with Barbara Jay* (Spotlite, 2003)

## References

1. Larkin, Colin (ed.) (2004). *The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz*. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 1 85227 1833.

## External links

- [Barbara Jay](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/barbara-jay-mn0000146713) at [Allmusic](/source/Allmusic)
- [Searchable BBC archive including jazz programs](http://www.genome.ch.bbc.co.uk) at [BBC Genome project](/source/BBC_Genome_project)

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