Tuba Player Bill Barber, 87

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Bill Barber, a jazz tuba innovator who played on Birth Of The Cool and several other Miles Davis albums, died June 18 at his home in Bronxville, N.Y. He was 87.

Barber is widely credited for helping restore the tuba’s place in jazz during the ‘40s and ‘50s, transforming it from a Dixieland timekeeping instrument into a favored vehicle for melody and color.

Most recently, in 1992, Barber performed with Gerry Mulligan at Carnegie Hall for the “Rebirth of the Cool” concert, later touring and cutting an album with the group.



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