Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as well as a "first call" guitarist for studio, film, and television recording sessions. Kessel was a member of the group of session musicians informally known as the Wrecking Crew.

Early life

Kessel was born in

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

in 1923 to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. Kessel's father was an immigrant from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

who owned and operated a shoe shop. A self-taught guitarist, his only formal musical study was three months of guitar lessons at the age of 12.

Career

He began his career as a teenager, touring with local swing bands. When he was 16, he started playing with the Oklahoma A&M band, Hal Price & the Varsitonians. The band members nicknamed him "Fruitcake" because he practiced in excess of 16 hours per day. Kessel gained recognition due in part to his youth, and in part to being the only white musician playing in all-

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

bands at black clubs. In the early 1940s, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where for one year he was a member of the

Chico Marx Leonard Joseph "Chico" Marx ( ; March 22, 1887October 11, 1961) was an American comedian, actor, and pianist. He was the oldest brother in the Marx Brothers comedy troupe, alongside his brothers Harpo Marx, Arthur ("Harpo"), Groucho Marx, Juliu ...

big band. Noticed by

Norman Granz Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo and the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Gra ...

, he appeared in the 1944 film '' Jammin' the Blues'', which featured

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

. Soon after, he played in the bands of

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Nagasaki", "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "South ...

and

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

. During the day, he worked as a studio musician and at night played bop-oriented jazz in clubs. In 1947, he recorded with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

. He worked in Jazz at the Philharmonic and for one year in the early 1950s he was a member of the

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

trio. After leaving the trio, he recorded several solo albums for

Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

. He recorded a series of albums with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne as ''The Poll Winners'' because the three of them often won polls conducted by ''

Metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

'' and ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazines. He was the guitarist on the album '' Julie Is Her Name'' (1955) by

Julie London Julie London (born Julie Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch song, torch singer noted for her contralto voice, London recorded over thirty album ...

, which includes the standard " Cry Me a River", selling a million copies and demonstrated Kessel's chordal approach to guitar. During the 1960s, Kessel worked for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

and was a member of a band of session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. At one point, after a two and a half hour session to record a one-chord song, " The Beat Goes On," Kessel is reported to have stood up and proclaimed, "Never have so many played so little for so much." He recorded with pop acts such as The Monkees and The Beach Boys and with jazz musicians

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

and

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

. Kessel played the iconic opening notes of the acclaimed Beach Boys'

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...

album, on the track " Wouldn't It Be Nice." He played a 12-string hybrid mando-guitar, plugged directly into the recording console, at Brian Wilson's request. Kessel eventually left studio work to concentrate on his jazz career both onstage and on records. Along with solo work, he formed the ensemble Great Guitars with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis. Kessel was rated the No. 1 guitarist in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', ''DownBeat'', and ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' magazine polls between 1947 and 1960. From 1957 to 1958, Kay Musical Instrument Company manufactured the Kay Barney Kessel signature series guitars (models "Pro", "Artist" and "Jazz Special"). From 1961 to 1974,

Gibson Guitars Gibson, Gibson's or Gibsons may refer to: Business * Gibson Appliance, a former American refrigerator manufacturer * Gibson (guitar company), an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Greetings, ...

manufactured the Barney Kessel artist signature guitars in Standard and Custom models.

Artistry and equipment

Jazz music educator Wolf Marshall said the style that Barney Kessel employed in his music was "the natural outgrowth of the electric guitar tone fostered by Charlie Christian and embraced by virtually every exponent of the post-Christian school". Kessel's signature "warm, clean timbre" was created with hollow-body arch-top electric guitars with the neck pickup activated, played through a tube combo amp. The guitar stylings of Barney Kessel were rooted in 1930s and 1940s jazz, and were influenced by the swing and

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

styles of that time. Kessel was also influenced by post-bop modal jazz,

hard bop Hard bop is a subgenre of jazz that is an extension of bebop (or "bop") music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz that incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospe ...

, and

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

. Specifically, he named Charlie Parker, Pat Martino, Oscar Peterson, Lester Young and Django Reinhardt as influences on his playing style. Additionally, Kessel's music had a strong blues influence "in both chord- and single-note form". Kessel was known for his chord stylings and single-note solos. Throughout his career, Kessel primarily played a sunburst Gibson ES-350P that was built in either 1947 or 1948, which the guitarist modified extensively. He replaced the original pickup with a "Charlie Christian" bar pickup, replaced the original volume and tone knobs with those taken off of a record player, omitted the pickguard, and installed dot inlays to replace the original fingerboard. Throughout his career, Kessel used various models of combo amplifiers made by Fender, Gibson and Univox. He used a heavy-gauge rounded pick and used medium-gauge Darco-wound polished guitar strings.

Personal life

Kessel was married to Gail Genovia Farmer throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Together they had two sons, Dan and David Kessel. Later, he was married to Betty Jane (BJ) Baker for 16 years, divorcing in 1980. His third marriage to Joanne “Jo” Kessel lasted 10 years, and he was married to his fourth wife, Phyllis Kessel, for 12 years. Kessel's sons Dan Kessel and David Kessel became record producers and session musicians, working with

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

, Blondie, The Go-Gos and others.

Death

Kessel was in poor health after suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1992, which effectively ended his career. 12 years later, he died from a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

at his home in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

on May 6, 2004 at the age of 80.

Discography

As leader

* ''Barney Kessel'' (

, 1954) * '' To Swing or Not to Swing'' (Contemporary, 1955) * '' Kessel Plays Standards'' (Contemporary, 1956) * '' Easy Like'' (Contemporary, 1956) * '' Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By'' (Contemporary, 1957) * '' The Poll Winners'' with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown (Contemporary, 1957) * '' The Poll Winners Ride Again!'' with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown (Contemporary, 1958) * '' Modern Jazz Performances from Bizet's Opera Carmen'' (Contemporary, 1959) * ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...

'' (Contemporary, 1959) * '' Poll Winners Three!'' with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown (Contemporary, 1960) * '' Exploring the Scene!'' with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown (Contemporary, 1960) * ''Bossa Nova Plus Big Band'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

, 1961) * ''El Tigre'' with

Harold Land Harold de Vance Land (December 18, 1928 – July 27, 2001) was an American hard bop and post-bop tenor saxophonist. Land developed his hard bop playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown band into a personal, modern style, often rivalling Clifford ...

(Charlie Parker, 1962) * '' Let's Cook!'' (Contemporary, 1962) * ''Breakfast At Tiffany's'' (Reprise, 1962) * '' Barney Kessel's Swingin' Party'' (Contemporary, 1963) * ''Contemporary Latin Rhythms'' (Reprise, 1963) * ''On Fire'' (Emerald, 1965) * ''Kessel's Kit'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

, 1969) * ''Reflections in Rome'' (RCA Victor, 1969) * ''Hair Is Beautiful'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1969) * '' Feeling Free'' (Contemporary, 1969) * ''What's New... Barney Kessel?'' ( Mercury, 1969) * ''Guitarra'' (RCA Camden, 1970) * ''Swinging Easy!'' ( Black Lion, 1971) * ''I Remember Django'' with Stephane Grappelli (Black Lion, 1971) * ''Limehouse Blues'' with Stephane Grappelli (Freedom, 1972) * ''Summertime in Montreux'' (Black Lion, 1973) * ''Easy Moments'' with Carlo Pes (Gemelli, 1973) * ''Two Way Conversation'' with Red Mitchell (Sonet, 1974) * ''Barney (& Friends) Plays Kessel'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1975) * ''Just Friends'' (Sonet, 1975) * ''Blue Soul'' (Black Lion, 1975) * ''Great Guitars'' with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis (Concord Jazz, 1975) * ''The Poll Winners: Straight Ahead'' with Ray Brown, Shelly Manne (Contemporary, 1975) * ''Poor Butterfly'' with Herb Ellis (Concord Jazz, 1977) * ''Soaring'' (Concord Jazz, 1977) * ''Live at Sometime'' (Trio, 1977) * ''A Tribute to the Great Hollywood Stars'' with Junko Mine (Trio, 1977) * ''By Myself'' (Victor, 1977) * ''Great Guitars at the Winery'' with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis (Concord Jazz, 1980) * ''Jellybeans'' with Bob Maize and Jimmie Smith (Concord Jazz, 1981) * ''Solo'' (Concord Jazz, 1983) * ''Great Guitars at Charlie's Georgetown'' (Concord Jazz, 1983) * ''Spontaneous Combustion'' with

Monty Alexander Montgomery Bernard "Monty" Alexander OJ CD (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican American jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was in ...

(Contemporary, 1987) * ''Red Hot and Blues'' (Contemporary, 1988) * ''Autumn Leaves'' (Black Lion, 1989) * ''Great Guitars Live'' with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis (Concord 2001) * ''Live at the Jazz Mill 1954'' (Modern Harmonic, 2016) * ''Live at the Jazz Mill 1954 Vol. 2'' (Modern Harmonic, 2018)

As sideman

With

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

* '' The Beach Boys Today!'' (Capitol Records, 1965) * ''

'' (Capitol Records, 1966) With

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

* '' Alone Together'' ( Norgran, 1955) * '' Cosmopolite'' (Norgran, 1956) * '' Jazz Giant'' (Contemporary, 1958) * '' Aspects'' (

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

, 1959) With

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...

* '' Riot in Cell Block Number 9'' ( Spark Records, 1954) * '' One Kiss Led to Another'' (

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

, 1956) * '' Down in Mexico'' (Atco, 1956) * '' Young Blood'' (Atco, 1957) * '' Searchin''' (Atco, 1957) With

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

* '' Night Beat'' (RCA Victor, 1963) * '' Ain't That Good News'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 1964) With

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

* ''Generalissimo'' ( Verve, 1959) * ''Live Date'' (Verve, 1959) * ''Bravura'' (Verve, 1959) * ''Wailers'' (Verve, 1960) With Harry Edison * '' Sweets'' (

Clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, whic ...

, 1956) * '' Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You'' (Verve, 1957) With

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

* '' Billie Holiday Sings'' (Clef, 1952) * ''

'' (Clef, 1953) * ''

'' (Clef, 1954) * '' Billie Holiday at JATP'' (Clef, 1954) * '' Music for Torching'' (Clef, 1956) * '' Velvet Mood'' (Clef, 1956) * '' Lady Sings the Blues'' (Clef, 1956) * '' Body and Soul'' (Verve, 1957) * '' Songs for Distingué Lovers'' (Verve, 1957) * ''

All or Nothing at All "All or Nothing at All" is a song composed in 1939 by Arthur Altman, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. Frank Sinatra recording Frank Sinatra's August 31, 1939 recording of the song, accompanied by Harry James and his Orchestra was a huge hit in 19 ...

'' (Verve, 1958) With

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

* '' Things Are Swingin''' (Capitol, 1958) * '' I Like Men!'' (Capitol, 1959) * '' Jump for Joy'' (Capitol, 1959) * '' Then Was Then – Now Is Now!'' (Capitol, 1965) With

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self-proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

* '' This Is Anita'' (Verve, 1956) * '' Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day'' (Verve, 1957) * '' Anita Sings the Winners'' (Verve, 1958) * '' Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May'' (Verve, 1959) * '' Trav'lin' Light'' (Verve, 1961) With

* ''The Oscar Peterson Quartet'' (Verve, 1955) * ''Romance: The Vocal Styling of Oscar Peterson'' (Verve, 1956) With Shorty Rogers * '' Martians Come Back!'' (Atlantic, 1956) * '' Way Up There'' (Atlantic, 1957) * '' Chances Are It Swings'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * '' The Wizard of Oz and Other Harold Arlen Songs'' (RCA Victor, 1959) With Pete Rugolo * '' Out on a Limb'' ( EmArcy, 1956) * '' An Adventure in Sound: Reeds in Hi-Fi'' (Mercury, 1958) * '' An Adventure in Sound: Brass in Hi-Fi'' (Mercury, 1958) With

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...

* '' Look at Us'' (Atco Records, 1965) * '' In Case You're in Love'' (Atlantic Records, 1967) With others *

Georgie Auld Georgie Auld (May 19, 1919 – January 8, 1990) was a jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Early years Auld was born John Altwerger in Toronto, Canada, and moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1929. Before the family left Canada, Auld ...

, '' In the Land of Hi-Fi with Georgie Auld and His Orchestra'' (EmArcy, 1955) *

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...

, ''...And Now About Mr. Avalon'' (Chancellor, 1961) * Louis Bellson, '' Skin Deep'' (Norgran, 1953) *

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

, '' Albert's House'' (Beverly Hills, 1969) *

, '' All I Really Want to Do'' (

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

, 1965) * Buddy Collette, '' Man of Many Parts'' (Contemporary, 1956) *

Sonny Criss William "Sonny" Criss (23 October 1927 – 19 November 1977) was an American jazz musician. An Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz, he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker. Biography ...

, ''Go Man'' ( Imperial, 1956) * Bobby Day, ''Rockin' With Robbin'' (Class, 1959) * Sylvia Telles, ''Sylvia Telles U.S.A.'' (Philips, 1961) *

Dion DiMucci Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known Mononym, mononymously as Dion, is an American singer and songwriter. His music incorporates elements of doo-wop, Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B, folk music, folk an ...

, '' Born to Be with You'' (Collectables, 1975) *

Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...

, ''

Dale's Wail ''Dale's Wail'' is an album by American jazz trumpeter Roy Eldridge recorded in 1953 and originally released on the Clef label.

'' (Clef, 1953) *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, '' Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook'' (Verve, 1956) *

Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist. Biography Early years The youngest of four children, Gray was born in Oklahoma City. He spent his early childhood years in Oklahoma b ...

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

, Sonny Criss, ''Jazz Concert West Coast'' (

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, 1956) * Hampton Hawes, '' Four!'' (Contemporary, 1958) *

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

, '' Songs for Hip Lovers'' (Verve, 1957) *

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet and his penchant for collaborating with ...

, '' Ballads & Blues'' (Atlantic, 1956) *

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

and Buddy Rich, '' The Drum Battle'' (Verve, 1960) *

, '' Julie Is Her Name'' (Liberty, 1955) *

Oliver Nelson Oliver Edward Nelson (June 4, 1932 – October 28, 1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. His 1961 Impulse! album '' The Blues and the Abstract Truth'' (1961) is regarded as one of the most signi ...

, '' Soulful Brass'' ( Impulse!, 1968) *

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American jazz musician, most known as an alto saxophonist. He occasionally performed and recorded on tenor saxophone, clarinet (his first instrument) and bass clarinet. Active ...

and

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

, '' Art 'n' Zoot'' ( Pablo, 1995) * Jane Powell, ''Can't We Be Friends?'' (Verve, 1956) *

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the L ...

, ''Back to Back'' (Philles, 1965) *

, '' Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders'' (Contemporary, 1958) * Chan Romero, '' Hippy Hippy Shake'' (Del-Fi 45, 1959) * Evie Sands, ''Any Way That You Want Me'' (Rev-Ola, 1970) *

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roa ...

, '' Back in Town'' (Verve, 1959) * Mel Tormé, '' That's All'' (Columbia, 1965) * Mel Tormé, '' A Day in the Life of Bonnie and Clyde'' (Liberty, 1968) *

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

, '' River Deep – Mountain High'' (A&M, 1966) * Joe Williams, ''With Love'' (Temponic, 1972)

Bibliography

* * * * * *

References

External links

* * * * * *
Barney Kessel Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (1999)
Barney Kessel Signature Phrases & Analysis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel, Barney 1923 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American guitarists American jazz guitarists American music arrangers American session musicians Bebop guitarists Concord Records artists Contemporary Records artists Cool jazz guitarists Deaths from brain cancer in California Jazz musicians from Oklahoma Musicians from Muskogee, Oklahoma The Wrecking Crew (music) members West Coast jazz guitarists American male guitarists Mainstream jazz guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Great Guitars (band) members Black Lion Records artists Sonet Records artists Savoy Records artists RCA Records artists Oscar Peterson Trio members