Barney Kessel Live

Barney Kessel - Live At The Jazz Mill 1954 (2016) {Modern Harmonic MHCD-007}
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© 1954, 2016 Modern Harmonic / Sundazed Music | MHCD-007
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Guitar

A fantastic addition to the Barney Kessel catalog of the 50s – a never-heard live set that has the guitarist in form that's every bit as strong as his famous albums for Contemporary Records! In fact, the strength of the recording may well capture Kessel at a level that beats those sessions – as Barney's playing live, with a bit more bite – and really grabs us with the strong tone on his solos – and the sense of energy he gets in a quartet that also includes a young Pete Jolly on piano! The recording quality is excellent – crystal-clear, and very focused – and the set isn't one of those lost tapes that should have stayed "lost" – but instead a real lost chapter in Barney's tremendous career.

Barney Kessel - Contemporary Latin Rhythms! (1961) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit Remaster}
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© 1961, 2013 Reprise / Warner Japan / WEA / Rhino | WPCR-27277 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Bossa Nova / Latin Jazz / Bop / Guitar

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A wonderful set from Barney Kessel – bossa-inflected jazz, and a wonderful setting for Barney to hit some very groovy lines on electric guitar ! The group on the date is part of the strength of the record – with Conte Candoli on trumpet, Emil Richards on vibes, Paul Horn on flute, and Victor Feldman on piano – with loads of great percussion and guitar interplay on the set, plus some excellent use of flute and vibes – all of which makes for the sort of session that really translates the Brazilian groove into the best sort of sound the LA scene was cutting at the time ! Nice, light, and dancing rhythms – and titles that include "Love", "Days Of Wine & Roses", "Latin Dance #1", "Lady Byrd", and "One Note Samba".

Barney Kessel - Kessel's Kit (1969) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 100}
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© 1969, 2015 RCA / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 100
Jazz / Bop / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Soul Jazz / Groove / Guitar

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of Barney Kessel's greatest albums ever – a rare Italian-only session that has a sparkly Brazilian groove! The record was recorded in Rome in 1970, and it's got Kessel's guitar fronting a combo with organ and some very tight percussion – all dancing around in a fast samba mode that's different from virtually anything else he ever recorded – very groovy, very upbeat, and very much what you might expect when the talents of a west coast guitar giant meets the best of the Italian studio scene of the time! There's loads of original tracks on the set – like "Freeway", "Lison", "BJ's Samba", and "On the Riviera" – and the whole thing has a breezy dancing feel that's really wonderful!

The second Great Guitars album features guitarists Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis matching wits and generally inspiring each other throughout this studio set. The trio, along with bassist Joe Byrd and drummer Wayne Philips, are heard together on four numbers (best are "Undecided" and Ellis' "H & B Guitar Boogie"; Ellis and Kessel duet on "Down Home Blues"; Byrd has two features to himself; and a medley combines together short versions of "Benny's Bugle & and "Latin Groove" with the typically exuberant "Charlie's Blues" A fine all-around effort.

Seven clear, precise lessons in developing exciting chordal harmonies. This course will ultimately lead to your own original harmonic style.

This is an excellent session from guitarist Barney Kessel. Kessel is matched with vibraphonist Victor Feldman, pianist Hampton Hawes, bassist Leroy Vinnegar, and drummer Shelly Manne for a blues-with-a-bridge (the 11-minute "Let's Cook"), Vernon Duke's ballad "Time Remembered," and "Just in Time." The second half of the album has modernized versions of "Tiger Rag" and "Jersey Bounce" as played by the guitarist, tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, trombonist Frank Rosolino, pianist Jimmie Rowles, Vinnegar, and Manne. Throughout, Kessel keeps with the other all-stars, swinging hard while paying tribute to the legacy of Charlie Christian.

Barney Kessel And His Men - Breakfast At Tiffany's (1962) {2013 Japan 24-bit Remaster} [Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series]
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© 2013 Reprise / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27211 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Bop / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Guitar

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Those seeking Barney Kessel's legendary jazz stylings should look elsewhere. As a guitarist in the `50s, Kessel was renowned for his cool, bop-inspired playing in small quartets on sessions with the Contemporary label. But in the early `60s he signed with Reprise and embarked on a series of pop records. This was hardly new territory for Kessel, as he'd been backing pop musicians for years, and was a first-call guitarist for pop titans like Phil Spector; but as a front-man, this was a break from the jazz sessions he'd previously led. On his debut for Reprise, Kessel reinterpreted Henry Mancini's soundtrack for Breakfast at Tiffany's with a septet that included the superb playing of Paul Horn on saxophone and flute.

One of the finest guitarists to emerge after the death of Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel was a reliable bop soloist throughout his career. He played with a big band fronted by Chico Marx (1943), was fortunate enough to appear in the classic jazz short Jammin' the Blues (1944), and then worked with the big bands of Charlie Barnet (1944-1945) and Artie Shaw (1945); he also recorded with Shaw's Gramercy Five. Kessel became a busy studio musician in Los Angeles, but was always in demand for jazz records. He toured with the Oscar Peterson Trio for one year (1952-1953) and then, starting in 1953, led an impressive series of records for Contemporary that lasted until 1961 (including several with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne in a trio accurately called the Poll Winners)…

Other than four songs apiece released by Onyx and Verve, the CD reissue of Easy Like, Vol. 1 has guitarist Barney Kessel's first sessions as a leader, performances which launched his longtime association with the Contemporary label. Augmented by two "new" alternate takes, the set features Kessel in boppish form with quintets in 1953 and 1956 featuring, either Bud Shank or Buddy Collette doubling on flute and alto. Kessel shows off the influence of Charlie Christian throughout the performances, with the highlights including "Easy Like," "Lullaby of Birdland," "North of the Border," and the accurately titled "Salute to Charlie Christian."