Bob Adams is an accomplished UK trumpet and flügelhorn player, whose jazz repertoire spans from the era of Louis Armstrong to contemporary styles. He was born on July 3, 1951, in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England.

By the age of twelve, Adams was already a regular performer, playing three to four nights a week in small dance bands in the Glasgow area and participating in a cabaret act alongside his father. At fourteen, he gained significant recognition when he was sponsored on Hughie Green’s Opportunity Knocks by the esteemed British trumpet player Nat Gonella.

In 1966, at just 15 years old, Adams left school in Glasgow to tour with his father, starting with a summer season in Brighton and subsequently performing in theatres across the UK. His experience included numerous gigs in northern working men's clubs and a notable engagement at Expo 67 in Montreal. He also performed in Combined Services Entertainment shows in locations such as Aden, Malta, Libya, and Cyprus, working alongside figures like Hughie Green and Tony Hancock. This phase of his career continued until 1973, when his father's health issues necessitated the disbandment of their act.

Following this period, Adams immersed himself in the Glasgow jazz scene, initially forming a jazz quintet with alto saxophonist Bill Fanning, a prominent figure in Scottish jazz. Together, they later established a big band. Concurrently, Adams performed at the Mecca Ballrooms, first with Benny Daniels at the Plaza and later with Bill Patrick at Tiffany’s (formerly the Locarno). He also joined a big band led by Glasgow drum legend George McGowan, which competed in the 1982 Holsten Big Band Competition, where Adams was honored with both the best trumpet prize and the 'outstanding soloist prize,' judged by notable figures such as Buddy Tate, Doc Cheetham, and Max Jones. Two years later, he won the Trumpet Soloist prize in the BBC Big Band competition.

During this time, Adams also collaborated with the Scottish Radio Orchestra and the legendary Scottish Dance Band musician Tommy Sampson. In the mid-1980s, while working with vocalist Fionna Duncan, she recommended him to Mike Hart, the Festival Director of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival. This led to Adams becoming a regular performer at the festival for several years, during which he worked alongside artists such as Harry Sweets Edison, Warren Vache, Spanky Davis, Buddy Tate, Al Cohn, and many others.

Through his involvement with the festival, Adams joined Mike Hart’s Scottish Society Syncopators, which toured extensively in Germany, America, and Canada. This included performances at prominent events such as the Sacramento Jazz Festival, Victoria Jazz Festival in British Columbia, Cork Jazz Festival, Femo Jazz Festival in Denmark, Eindhoven Jazz Festival in Holland, and various other festivals throughout Germany.

In 1986, the newly established Glasgow Jazz Festival featured Adams' quartet and included him in the Benny Carter Big Band, which boasted a lineup of legendary figures from various eras of British jazz, including Bobby Orr, Tommy McQuater, and Gordon Campbell, among others. In 1990, Adams embarked on a significant tour in Germany with Bill Alldred’s tribute to Matty Matlock’s Paducah Patrol Band, collaborating with talented musicians such as Kenny Davern, Terry Myers, and Eddie Higgins. This band later reunited for festivals in Berne, Switzerland, and Decatur, Illinois.

Adams has also performed extensively across Europe with notable artists such as Pascal Michaux, Charly Antolini, and Pete York, gracing clubs and festivals in countries including Norway, Finland, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, and Slovenia. Around this time, he recorded his debut album for Jim Simpson's Big Bear Music, titled "One Foot in the Gutter," which was followed by his first of several collaborations with Alan Barnes, "Sidestepping." Their subsequent album, "Let’s Face the Music and Dance," was released about a year later, with both works earning CD of the Year honors at the British Jazz Awards. Adams also became part of the reformed Kenny Baker Dozen during this period.

For several years, Adams held the Cat Anderson chair in Pete Long’s Echoes of Ellington, culminating in a tour with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, where he performed the Cat Anderson solo in "The Madness in Great Ones." In addition to being a featured guest soloist with the BBC Big Band, he has worked with them on a freelance basis, collaborating with renowned artists such as Lennie Niehaus and Patti Austin. He also participated in the Cuban Fire Concert alongside Horatio el Negra Hernandez and Giovanni Hidalgo.

Adams has been a guest soloist with several big bands, including the Fat Chops Big Band, Nottingham Jazz Orchestra, and the Scottish National Orchestra Big Band, among others. His ongoing partnership with Alan Barnes continues to thrive through their quintet and numerous suites for septet and octet.