Guy Barker is a British trumpet player and composer/arranger. He is probably best known for his score and trumpet playing from the soundtrack to the movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley. The music from the Amadeus Project was recording in 2007 by a big band in Europe—I don’t think there are any U.S. born musicians performing on the project. Contrary to popular belief big bands have not disappeared, they have just re-invented themselves. The modern music written for these groups sounds quite different from the traditional music of 1940’s and 1950’s big bands. In many ways the new music is an extension of the groundwork laid down by Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and Gil Evans. There are a number of talented composer/arrangers writing for large ensemble today in the U.S. and Europe; that is what drew me to Guy Barker and this suite of recordings. The performers are outstanding and the compositions, while very modern, are accessible and there is an underlying theme throughout the work.