What's the deal with Barney Kessel?

[Bluedawg]

You might get a new perspective when you try to play with just bass and drums...it's an extremely difficult thing to do, there is so much space. Guys like Jim Hall "celebrated" the space (cool), Barney filled it up (hot).

You should listen to some examples of his playing throughout his career too, his early playing is distinctly different than his latter years. I prefer Barney's single line playing in his early stuff...cleaner and more bop influenced but I prefer his tone and chord-melody playing in his later years.

I can't think of anyone else before or since that made the guitar sound as huge in the guitar trio format. Try to emulate it, it's exhausting...he was so high-energy.

Argggg

A discontinued album ...

I found a used CD copy and it's on its way ....

Then again mp3million.com has this really cheap .. like less than a buck to download

Anyone use mp3million?

[ESCC]

Three of my favorites, Barney Kessel, Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown, wonderful live performance of
Seven Come Eleven

[Thumpalumpacus]

Well, coming to jazz after I'd been playing guitar already for a few years as a rocker, this might sound dumb to say, but I kinda had to learn how to hear jazz -- how to hear the one in a groove that was swinging all over the place, how to hear harmonic and melodic relationships that in my ignorance sounded all rather chaotic.

I think the same is true for me -- albeit on a smaller scale -- when listening to a guitarist I've not heard before serving up his own take on jazz. I can hear talent even in those guitarists whose music leaves me cold, and when that happens, I will relisten, because it's been my own personal experience that the problem wasn't usually the guitarist, but rather, my ears and my headspace.

I went and got a Stanley Jordan album a couple of years ago, the live one with "Autumn Leaves" and "Impressions" on it, and while I could respect his astounding technical ability, the music left me high and dry -- sounded like exercises, the first couple of listens. I was listening to it in the truck the other day, and found some passages in "Impressions" that began to click not just technically, but emotionally.

I get "not getting it". But I also think that I should make another go at it to make sure that my distaste is fair. With jazz, I've got a lot more patience, because the music is that much deeper.

[snoskier63]

Kessel liked to fill it up, that's for sure, but he was so much more than that. He could play any style however it needed to be played. Anyone not familiar with his contributions to not just jazz, but to music needs to research his studio work. Anyone with a rock and pop background has heard so much of his work without even realizing it. The intro to Wouldn't It Be Nice is just one example. He was not only one of the greatest jazz guitarists, but was one of the most recorded studio guitarists as well. That said, everyone has their own tastes, and as much as I love his playing it isn't everyone's thing.

[pingu]

I disagree.... I think his playing still stands up today. It all depends on what you are listening out for, really.

Barney played thirds as diads really great ...
Love that stuff , really pretty , that's a great
Sound on the guitar " broken chords " is it called ?

[Binyomin]

I recently heard four sides Barney did for the Atomic label. The two uptempo numbers were Atom Buster and Slick Chick. I thought they were really good with an obvious debt to Charlie Christian. What else by Barney sounds like that?

[TOMMO]

How can you not love this

Yes - "sloppiness" - but being a blues player this type of "sloppiness" is part of the palette of expressing oneself to me...

[grahambop]

A live recording from 1954 has been released which might appeal to Barney fans. I think it's available on other formats too:

https://www.dustygroove.com/item/806002