It happens sometimes that when a musician moves out of New York City he almost drops from sight in the jazz world, and when someone hasn't made it in Manhattan then the task of unearthing their work, no matter how good it is, becomes very difficult.

Which brings me to the trombonist Dan Barrett who returned to his native California several years ago and has scarcely been seen in Britain as a touring artist since. There was the notable exception of the European tour with Woody Allen's band when he played in London but Barrett is a much more accomplished player than he was able to demonstrate during that trip backing the film director on his constant voyage to find the definitive New Orleans sound.

On the documentary of the tour, Wild Man Blues, Barrett has little solo space and mostly he is there holding the front line together with Kid Ory-like smears. It is unlikely that he will play in that manner when he joins the Chris Barber band at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival venue The Hub on Friday August 6.

Barrett is a player whose roots are firmly in the Swing Era, a man who can conjure up memories of Tricky Sam Nanton with superb plunger-muted work and who - when he puts his mind to it - can sound exactly like Jack Teagarden on a ballad. But he has a distinct voice of his own, and while he has been away from New York, and, consequently, away from these shores, we have been able to hear it on several releases on the Arbors label and now on a CD recorded less than a year ago for Joe Boughton's Jump label.

Here he plays both his horns, cornet as well as trombone, and is heard to especially good advantage because of the make-up of the group which backs emerging West Coast singer Rebecca Kilgore, who has pianist Dave Frishberg as a mentor and guiding light. Here she is supported only by a trio, Barrett, clarinettist Bob Reitmeier who doubles on alto on some tracks, and pianist Keith Ingham.

The other day Ingham explained the session thus: ''I was a little bit concerned that we were only using a trio but we played a couple of concerts for Joe Boughton and then he took us into this beautiful little recording studio in Pittsburgh and, apart from some tidying up the next morning, the session, all 18 songs, was more or less completed in the one day. Once I got used to the idea of no bass and no drums being involved I found it challenging and also fun.'

HE ADDED: ''Dan is playing so well. The people in Edinburgh are in for a treat because he just gets all over that horn. Listen to how he

handles Til There Was You from The Music Man: that says it all about his mastery of the horn.

''He is so knowledgeable about the music and he can cover a whole lot of style so there will be no problem about him fitting in with Chris Barber. He works a lot out on the Coast and he also does the festival and jazz party rounds so, while he has left New York he is still as busy as ever.''

The reed player Bob Reitmeier has never left California, which is why his playing is so little known. But he is a very accomplished clarinettist, and, as

Ingham suggests: ''He has a lovely sound on alto, a little like Murray McEachern had when he played the instrument.''

Kilgore sings well and her repertoire includes such songs as Robins and Roses, 'Tis Autumn, and the Billy Strayhorn piece I'm Checking Out Good Bye, once famously recorded by Rosemary Clooney with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Ingham, of course, holds everything together, and with Barret sketched some of the arrangements. In Edinburgh Barrett will line up alongside fellow American Ken Peplowski, who will be on tenor sax and clarinet.

In the meantime make do with this CD outing Rebecca Kilgore with Dan Barrett, Keith Ingham and Bob Reitmeier which is on Jump JCD12-22, available from specialist record shops.