{"id":18573,"date":"2026-01-27T17:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/?p=18573"},"modified":"2026-05-03T14:40:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T12:40:39","slug":"5-barney-kessel-jazz-guitar-intros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/5-barney-kessel-jazz-guitar-intros\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Barney Kessel Jazz Guitar Intros"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barney Kessel was the master of the jazz guitar intro. Known for his sophisticated harmonic vocabulary, fluent technique, and impeccable timing, Kessel had a gift for setting the mood of a tune.<\/p>\n

\"Barney<\/p>\n

In this lesson, you’ll learn five jazz guitar intros played by Barney Kessel, taken from both classic recordings and lesser-known performances.<\/p>\n

Each example highlights a different harmonic approach, including open-string voicings, repetitive chord-and-bass patterns, quartal harmony, chromatic movement, and a mix between single-note lines and chord hits.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/span><\/span>\n

 <\/p>\n

Barney Kessel Intro 1 – The Shadow of Your Smile<\/h2>\n

Key:<\/strong> E minor<\/p>\n

The Shadow of Your Smile<\/em> is a song written by Johnny Mandel in 1965 for a film called The Sandpiper<\/em>, and quickly became a jazz standard.<\/p>\n

This solo guitar intro comes from Live & Rare<\/em>, recorded during a 1974 BBC TV program titled The Five Faces of the Guitar<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The intro opens in bars 1 to 4<\/span> with some spacious open-string chords.<\/p>\n

From bars 5 to 10<\/span> he shifts to quartal voicings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n

\t\t\t