Three's Company is a small, Oxford-based New Orleans/ Chicago-style jazz band playing music from the 1920s and 30s: think Louis Armstrong, with Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Great American Songbook repertoire (Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald) thrown into the mix.
The eponymous trio consists of Bernard Trafford on trumpet,
Will Arthur on semi-acoustic guitar and
Nigel Barr on bass tuba.
Of course, the band is flexible in size, recognising that venues and events vary hugely in scope and scale: so it might grow to four or more, Nigel moving to provide a sizzling trombone part, and adding a bass - and further great players at need:
as a quartet...
This is classic New Orleans/ Chicago jazz/swing: raw and authentic without slavishly following any particular formula. The band comprises excellent musicians who play because they love it. It doesn't do demos or recordings, but you can get a hint of what it sounds like from some video-clips snatched at live gigs: click on the titles.
...and as a quintet
The take of Dr Jazz, in classic trio format, comes from a performance at Summertown Wine Bar in July 2023. Fats Waller's I'm going to sit right down and write myself a letter sees Three's Company playing as a quartet out of doors - at a wedding in Oxfordshire in June 2025 - while Everybody loves my baby features the band as a full quintet, playing at a private garden party in July 2025.
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter
Of course, musicians get around, and you'll often see many of the same players featuring in bands under other names. So Bernard is frequently to be seen joining Will at his weekly Tuesday evening jazz sessions at Oxford's famous Bear Inn - with, on bass, the amazing Terry Davis - or, similarly, at The Chequers nearby on a Sunday. Both historic pubs attract an appreciative all-age crowd encouraging great evenings of jazz, as these three tracks from Spring 2025 demonstrate. As long as I live is a gentle mid-tempo number: the classic Basin Street Blues comprises a self-indulgent, nostalgic (seven-minute!) visit to New Orleans; and Honeysuckle Rose is another enthusiastic tribute to Fats Waller.
Please use the Contact page to reach Bernard Trafford about booking the band.