Barlow briefly studied at the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s Barlow moved to New York, where he was a member of two groups, the
Cedar Walton Quartet and
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He studied saxophone with George Coleman and Dave Liebman, piano with Barry Harris, and Hal Galper, and won a BMI scholarship to study at the "Jazz composers workshop" with Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Album. Barlow has also toured and recorded with many other jazz greats including
Sonny Stitt,
Chet Baker,
Gil Evans,
Jackie McLean,
Billy Cobham,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Curtis Fuller,
Eddie Palmieri,
Benny Golson,
Lee Konitz,
Helen Merrill,
Mulgrew Miller,
Kenny Barron,
Ray Drummond,
Dave Kikoski,
Richie Cole,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Billy Higgins,
Freddie Hubbard and
Wynton Marsalis,
Cindy Blackman,
Ernie Watts,
Eddie Henderson,
Jeff Watts,
Essiet Essiet,
Bennie Green and
Mike Nock. He played with the Gil Evans' Big Band, and was a member of the Billy Cobham band for 3 years. Dale also was a part of the English Jazz scene for some years where he performed at
Ronnie Scotts many times as a part of Ronnies' band, as well as his own units, and was a composer and member of the original '
Loose Tubes Big Band'. He was in Stan Traceys' Group, Gordon Becks' Quintet, and performed with Kenny Wheeler and Django Bates, He recorded and performed with numerous pop artists while in England including- Wham, Style Council, Sting, Ian Dury. In Australia and SEAsia he has performed with many artists and groups, including Keys Music Association, The Benders,
Bruce Cale,
Roger Frampton,
Vince Jones,
Matt Finish,
Margaret Urlich,
Kate Ceberano,
Indra Lesmana, and
Dwiki Dharmawan. Dale's group 'The Wizards of Oz' with Paul Grabowsky, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck, was the first Australian group to undertake a major 2 continent tour (USA/Canada/Europe) with assistance from the Australia Council for the Arts. ==Discography==