Death of an (Almost) Nobody: Robert Barry

Demonstrating just how far out of local and international musical discourse Chicago drummer Robert Barry had fallen, The Chicago Reader’s Peter Margasak told readers of  his column that he had just learned of the drummer’s death at 85, almost two full months after it had taken place in a local assisted living centre. An unsung player, Barry kept a low-profile during a lengthy sideman career that stretched from the 1950s to the early 21st Century. Yet along the way he played with a good portion of the Windy City’s major talents, including soul/R&B producer/bassist Richard Evans and had an early membership in Sun Ra’s Arkestra at the beginning; then many years later collaborating with an entirely new musical generation like cornetist Rob Mazurek, trombonist Jeb Bishop and saxophonists Ken Vandermark. His most profound showcase though was a 2001 duo date with saxophonist Fred Anderson, a better-known, but fellow Jazz veteran.