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Barry Whitmore - Barry’s interest in jazz got started in high school as guitarist with the Sheldon Williams Collegiate jazz band and he began playing the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. He became the music director for the Regina College SRC in time to put on the annual production On Stage 63 and formed the Regina College Jazz Combo with trumpeter Ron Brooks getting funding for Wednesday jazz concerts in the Tower Room. At U of M in Winnipeg, Barry and his bass player Norm Ripley hosted the Sunday night jams at the Fourth Dimension where he shared the stage with Lenny Breau, Neil Young, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee.

Having graduated with his BSc in 1965, Barry traveled Europe playing in various clubs there and in Toronto’s Riverboat and Montreal’s New Penelope club. He moved to Miami in 1967 and played in New York and Nassau with recording artist Vince Martin. In Miami, he also played part time as a jazz soloist with a mix of Caribbean musicians called Fish Ray and the Calypsonians. Regina tenor player, Arnie Davis, joined him there in 1969 to form a Sanatana-style band, Aquarian Bazaar, with former Sam and Dave drummers, Chris Jackson and Frank Robinson. He was asked by Jim Lovell to record a tape with Elvis Presley’s cousin, Trish Butte,  that went around the moon on Apollo 13. Barry turned down an offer to tour Europe with Tom Rush to return to Canada to develop a business career and raise a family.

Returning to Regina in 1970 to pursue a Masters degree, Barry joined trumpet player, Ron Brooks, alto player, Art Britton, and tenor player, Arnie Davis in the Regina Jazz Workshop with his former Uptown rhythm section, Tim Krieser bass and Gary Arnusch drums. In 1977 Barry formed the Regina Jazz Society with his wife, Judy Young and Arnie Davis, where he presided as president for the first two years. Barry settled on a career as a Marketing Manager for SaskTel and operated a yacht charter business out of Nassau for 11 winters taking guests sailing and diving. He retired from SaskTel in 1998, formed Uptown Jazz with bassist, Joe Kleisinger, in 1999 and began the Monday Night Jazz program at the Bushwakker, featuring the former horns from the Regina Jazz Workshop from time to time.

Barry rejoined the Regina Jazz Society board of directors in 2002 as the newsletter editor and has recently also taken over as artistic director. Barry has written and published a book entitled Choosing Wine for Dinner - The Food and Wine Handbook.

His latest venture is Legacy Recording, a program to create a Regina jazz archive by recording local live jazz performances beginning January 2008 with The Bushwakker Brewpub as the inital sponsoring partner.

His band Uptown Jazz plays the last Monday of each month at the Bushwakker and is featured with special guests from time to time at Le Bistro for the Regina Jazz Society.

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