This DVD captures almost 30 years of rare performances from 1962 to 1991. Barney is seen playing in a trio setting, solo and with his friends - jazz guitarists Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd. These performances capture the unique artistry of this great American musician.
More unearthed tape from a jazz icon! Thanks to a 21-year-old with a tape machine, we can all experience the majesty of guitar legend Barney Kessel! This second volume of Jazz Mill recordings shows Barney firmly at the top of his game.\n\nOnce again, Barney and the Jazz Millers (pianist Pete Jolly, drummer Art Kile, and bassist Gene Stoffell) interpret a variety of standards from The Great American Songbook and each arrangement serves to demonstrate the group's superb chops and collective creativity.\n\nFirst up is "Mean to Me," a vintage standard from 1929. It's bluesy posture and timeless message is still as modern as today. On an uptempo rendition of "Tea for Two" Barney is out of the gate with chorus after chorus of smoking solos on a song some would consider a "chestnut" from 1925. "Indian Summer" has been a favorite of jazz musicians and fans for decades, and this bouncy arrangement serves as a Kessel showcase where he delivers like a master storyteller. The Millers' high velocity rendition of Harold Arlen's "Let's Fall in Love" generates non-stop excitement as Barney renders one blistering chorus after another and the group's version of the classic "Blue Moon" is also presented with flair and feel. "I Can't Get Started" is a "torch song," the story of someone with an embarrassment of riches who would relinquish it all for love. Kessel and the Jazz Millers' interplay express the atmospheric and contemplative sense of this composition. Closing out the album is the riff tune "Godchild," something one would expect to hear at an after-hours jam session.\n\nThanks to Jack Miller, a young Phoenix audiophile, armed with his Knight-brand recorder, today we can relive and enjoy the artistry of one of jazz's most extraordinary musicians. This is Barney in his salad days when he was topping all the major jazz polls and emerging as one of the most important guitarists of that or any subsequent era. 01. Mean To Me /02. Tea For Two /03. Indian Summer /04. Let's Fall In Love /05. Blue Moon /06. I Can't Get Started /07. Godchild
This re-release campaign from Contemporary Records is a fantastic initiative to celebrate their 75th anniversary in 2026. By offering a limited-time encore pressing of 28 of their most representative and popular albums (including two already available on Everything Jazz), the label is giving both long-time fans and new listeners a special opportunity to own these classic West Coast jazz recordings. The choice to use the SHM-CD format suggests a focus on superior audio quality, making this set a highly anticipated and valuable collector's item for jazz aficionados looking to commemorate the label's significant legacy.
This re-release campaign from Contemporary Records is a fantastic initiative to celebrate their 75th anniversary in 2026. By offering a limited-time encore pressing of 28 of their most representative and popular albums (including two already available on Everything Jazz), the label is giving both long-time fans and new listeners a special opportunity to own these classic West Coast jazz recordings. The choice to use the SHM-CD format suggests a focus on superior audio quality, making this set a highly anticipated and valuable collector's item for jazz aficionados looking to commemorate the label's significant legacy.
Susanne Kessel has dedicated this CD to the works of John Cage, the American Composer, Zen Buddhist and passionate mushroom eater. John Cage would be exactly 100 years old this year. Kessel is actively supported in this project by Joachim Krol, the speaker/narrator of these short stories. In 1993, Susanne Kessel was a prizewinner of the International Schubert Competition.
Barney Kessel - The Contemporary Years: Selected Recordings 1953-57 / Ranging across standards and his own compositions, it's a fascinating and enlightening showcase for a great guitarist - Barney Kessel was a jazz guitarist who is widely regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile guitarists of the post-war era, who had a parallel career as one of the most in-demand session men in Hollywood, appearing on dozens of hit records and movie soundtracks. Emerging on the scene at the start of the 1940s he was greatly influenced by Charlie Christian, and became a fixture on bebop sessions through into the 1950s, working with the likes of Charlie Parker and Oscar Peterson and on the Jazz At The Philharmonic shows. This 43-track 2-CD collection comprises selected titles he recorded leading his own bands on albums for the Contemporary label during the middle years of the 1950s. It features tracks culled from his albums "Barney Kesssel", "Barney Kessel Vol. 2", "Easy Like", Barney Kessel Plays Standards", "To Swing Or Not To Swing", "Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By" and "Poll Winners". It includes recordings with Bud Shank, Harry Babasin, Shelly Manne, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Jimmy Rowles, Al Hendrickson, Andre Previn, Buddy Collette, Ray Brown and other noted musicians who were members of his line-ups for these sessions. Ranging across standards and his own compositions, it's a fascinating and enlightening showcase for a great guitarist best-known for his work with other bands, but is here featured as a leader. Barney Kessel - The Contemporary Years: Selected Recordings 1953-57.
This re-release campaign from Contemporary Records is a fantastic initiative to celebrate their 75th anniversary in 2026. By offering a limited-time encore pressing of 28 of their most representative and popular albums (including two already available on Everything Jazz), the label is giving both long-time fans and new listeners a special opportunity to own these classic West Coast jazz recordings. The choice to use the SHM-CD format suggests a focus on superior audio quality, making this set a highly anticipated and valuable collector's item for jazz aficionados looking to commemorate the label's significant legacy.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing housed in a tip-on jacket. Released as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series celebrating 70 years of Contemporary Records, The Poll Winners brings together the talents of Barney Kessel (Guitar), Shelly Manne (Drums), and Ray Brown (Bass). First released in 1957 and recorded by legendary engineer Roy DuNann, this new edition features all-analog mastering from the original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman.
