Barney Kessel
Electric Guitar Solo on
I Can't Give You Anything But Love

About

Barney Kessel's electric guitar solo is the first of two solos on this relaxed reading of "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" from The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio. Kessel takes a half-chorus over the 32-bar ABAC form in E-flat at a medium 124 BPM, opening the solo section with a concise, melodically driven statement. On this track, Lester Young confines himself to melody duties, leaving the improvising to the rhythm section. Jimmy McHugh's 1928 composition, whose authorship has long been disputed with claims of Fats Waller involvement, provides a familiar harmonic framework for Kessel's bop-flavored guitar work.

Barney Kessel was 28 to 29 years old at the time.