Barney Kessel
Electric Guitar
May 6, 2004 (Age 80) died
October 17, 1923 Birthday
Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S. Birthplace
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About
Barney Kessel was an accomplished jazz guitarist, composer, and producer. He began his career as a teenager in Oklahoma but moved to Los Angeles in the early 1940s, where he quickly gained prominence. He first played with the Chico Marx Big Band and then appeared with Dexter Gordon in the short film "Jammin' the Blues." Kessel went on to perform with notable artists such as Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw, the Oscar Peterson Trio, and Billie Holiday. Starting in the 1950s, he began recording albums as a leader, eventually releasing dozens over his career. Throughout the 1960s, he was an in-demand studio musician and a member of the Wrecking Crew, a group of elite session musicians. His playing can be heard on albums by Frank Sinatra, Sonny Rollins, and the Beach Boys, among others. In the 1970s, Kessel returned to his jazz roots, forming the guitar trio Great Guitars with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis. In 1992, he suffered a serious stroke that prevented him from performing. Barney Kessel passed away from cancer at the age of 80 in 2004.
Trivia
Barney Kessel can be heard playing the opening notes of the Beach Boys hit song "Wouldn't it Be Nice." In the late 1960s Barney Kessel opened a music store in Hollywood called Barney Kessel’s Music World; it's customers included John Lennon, George Harrison, and Eric Clapton. In addition to his recording career, Barney Kessel produced instruction books and tapes.
Early Life
Barney Kessel was born in Oklahoma in 1923. At the age of 12, he saw a guitar in a shop window, found it intriguing, and decided to buy it along with a "How to Play Guitar" instruction booklet. By his early teens, he was playing professionally with local dance bands in Oklahoma, often the only white musician in all-black bands and performing in black clubs. In the early 1940s, seeking to broaden his musical horizons, Kessel moved to Los Angeles, where he became an integral part of the West Coast Jazz scene.
Barney Kessel Solos
1952
Electric Guitar solo - Ad Lib Blues - 1952
4/4 swing in C major at 219 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - Just You, Just Me - 1952
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 244 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - Tea For Two - 1952
4/4 swing in A♭ major at 275 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - Indiana - 1952
4/4 swing in A♭ major at 192 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - I Can't Give You Anything But Love - 1952
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 124 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - Easy to Love - 1952
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 133 BPM
1947
Electric Guitar solo - Relaxin' At Camarillo - 1947
4/4 swing in C major at 198 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - Cheers - 1947
4/4 swing in B♭ major at 228 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - Carvin' The Bird - 1947
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 232 BPM
Electric Guitar solo - Stupendous - 1947
4/4 swing in E♭ major at 234 BPM