Tag Archives: Barney Kessel

Lester Young: Lester Young With Oscar Peterson Trio

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In June 1954, “Norgran” label released “Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio #1” and “Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio #2”, the debut Lester Young albums. They were recorded in November 1952, in New York City, and were produced by Norman Granz.

Personnel:

  • Lester Young – vocal, tenor saxophone
  • Oscar Peterson – piano
  • Barney Kessel – guitar
  • Ray Brown – double bass
  • J. C. Heard – drums
  • Nat Hentoff – liner notes

Track listing

  1. Ad Lib Blues – Oscar Peterson, Lester Young
  2. I Can’t Get Started – Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin
  3. Just You, Just Me – Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages
  4. Almost Like Being in Love – Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe
  5. Tea for Two – Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans
  6. There Will Never Be Another You – Mack Gordon, Harry Warren
  7. (Back Home Again In) Indiana – James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald
  8. On the Sunny Side of the Street – Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
  9. Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish
  10. (I’m) Confessin’ (That I Love You) – Doc Daugherty, Al J. Neiburg, Ellis Reynolds
  11. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
  12. These Foolish Things – Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey

Oscar Peterson: Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin

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In December 1952, “Clef Records” label released “Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin”, the seventh Oscar Peterson album. It was recorded in December 1952, and was produced by Norman Granz.

Personnel:

  • Oscar Peterson – piano
  • Barney Kessel – guitar
  • Ray Brown – double bass
  • David Stone Martin – design
  • Norman Granz – liner notes, supervised

Track listing:

All tracks by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.

  1. The Man I Love
  2. Fascinating Rhythm
  3. It Ain’t Necessarily So
  4. Somebody Loves Me
  5. Strike Up the Band
  6. I’ve Got a Crush on You
  7. I Was Doing All Right
  8. S’Wonderful
  9. Oh, Lady be Good!
  10. I Got Rhythm
  11. A Foggy Day
  12. Love Walked In

Oscar peterson: Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington

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In December 1952, “Clef Records” label released “Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington”, the sixth Oscar Peterson album. It was recorded in December 1952, and was produced by Norman Granz. This is the first of two Oscar Petersons Duke Ellington songbook albums (released in the 50’s as 10”).

Personnel:

  • Oscar Peterson – piano
  • Barney Kessel – guitar
  • Ray Brown – double bass
  • David Stone Martin – artwork
  • Norman Granz – liner notes, supervision

Track listing:

All tracks by Duke Ellington, except where noted.

  1. John Hardy’s Wife – Mercer Ellington
  2. Sophisticated Lady – Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish
  3. Things Ain’t What They Used to Be – Mercer Ellington, Ted Persons
  4. Just A-Sittin’ and A-Rockin’ – Lee Gaines, Billy Strayhorn
  5. In a Mellow Tone
  6. I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good) – Paul Francis Webster
  7. Prelude to a Kiss – Mack Gordon, Irving Mills
  8. Cotton Tail
  9. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – Duke Ellington, Bob Russell
  10. Take the “A” Train – Billy Strayhorn
  11. Rockin’ in Rhythm – Irving Mills
  12. Never No Lament (Do Nothin’ Til You Hear from Me) – Duke Ellington, Bob Russell

V.A.: A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records

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On November 22, 1963, “Philles” label released “A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records”, an album of Christmas songs. It was recorded September – October 1963, at “Gold Star” in Hollywood, and was produced by Phil Spector. In 2003, the album was ranked at no. 142 on “Rolling Stone” magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, and in 2019, it was ranked the greatest “Christmas Album of All Time”.

Personnel:

  • Darlen Love – performer (White Christmas, Marshmallow World, Winter Wonderland, Christmas, Baby Please Come Home)
  • The Ronettes – performer (Frosty the Snowman, Sleigh Ride, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus)
  • Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans – performer (The Bells of St. Mary’s, Here Comes Santa Claus)  
  • The Crystals – performer (Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, Parade of the Wooden Soldiers)
  • Phil Spector – performer (Silent Night)
  • Barney Kessel – guitar
  • Bill Pitman – guitar
  • Tommy Tedesco – guitar
  • Nino Tempo – guitar
  • Irv Rubins – guitar
  • Leon Russell – piano
  • Al De Lory – piano
  • Don Randi – piano
  • Ray Pohlman – bass
  • Jimmy Bond – bass
  • Hal Blaine – drums
  • Sonny Bono – percussion
  • Frank Capp – percussion
  • Jack Nitzsche – percussion, arrangements
  • Jay Migliori – saxophone
  • Steve Douglas – baritone saxophone
  • Roy Caton – trumpet
  • Lou Blackburn – horns
  • Johnny Vidor – strings
  • Larry Levine – engineer

Track listing:

  1. White Christmas – Irving Berlin
  2. Frosty the Snowman – Steve Nelson, Walter Rollins
  3. The bells of St. Mary’s – A. Emmet Adams, Douglas Furber
  4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town – J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
  5. Sleigh Ride – Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish
  6. Marshmallow World – Carl Sigman, Peter DeRose
  7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Tommie Connor
  8. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer – Johnny Marks
  9. Winter Wonderland – Felix Bernard, Dick Smith
  10. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers – Leon Jessel
  11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home – Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector
  12. Here Comes Santa Claus – Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman
  13. Silent Night – Josef Mohr, Franz X. Gruber

Billie Holiday: Music For Torching

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In October 1955, “Clef Records” label released “Music for Torching”, the fourth Billie Holiday album. It was recorded in August 1955, in Los Angeles, and was produced by Norman Granz.

Personnel:

  • Billie Holiday – vocals
  • Barney Kessel – guitar
  • Jimmy Rowles – piano
  • Benny Carter – alto saxophone
  • Harry “Sweets” Edison – trumpet
  • John Simmons – bass
  • Larry Bunker – drums
  • David Stone Martin – artwork

Track listing:

  1. It Had to Be You – Isham Jones, Gus Kahn
  2. Come Rain or Come Shine – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
  3. I Don’t Want to Cry Anymore – Victor Schertzinger
  4. I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You – Victor Young, Ned Washington, Bing Crosby
  5. A Fine Romance – Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields
  6. Gone with the Wind – Allie Wrubel, Herb Magidson
  7. I Get a Kick Out of You – Cole Porter
  8. Isn’t This a Lovely Day? – Irving Berlin

John Marshall

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On September 16, 2023, John Stanley Marshall died aged 82. He was musician (drums, percussion), member of Soft Machine, but was best known as founding member of Nucleus. He recorded and performed with various musician and bands including Arthur Brown, Allan Holdsworth, J.J. Jackson, Barney Kessel, Alexis Korner, Eberhard Weber, Arild Andersen, John Abercrombie, Charlie Mariano, John Surman, Graham Collier, Michael Gibbs, Keith Tippett, Centipede, Jack Bruce, John McLaughlin, Dick Morrissey, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Vassilis Tsabropoulos, Michael Garrick, Neil Ardley, Mike Westbrook, Georgie Game, Indo-Jazz Fusions, Bill Fay, Mike d’Abo, Chris Spedding, Top Topham, Chitinous Ensemble, Linda Hoyle, Spontaneous Music Orchestra, Volker Kriege, John Williams, Pork Pie, Jasper van’t Hof, Alan Skidmore, Gil Evans, Uli Beckerhoff, Towering Inferno, Wolfgang Mirbach, Theo Travis and Rot Powell.

Sonny & Cher: Look at Us

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On August 2, 1965. “Atco” label released “Look at Us”, the debut Sonny & Cher studio album. It was recorded in 1965, and was produced by Sonny Bono.

Personnel:

  • Cher – co-lead vocals
  • Sonny Bono – co-lead vocals
  • Barney Kessel – guitar
  • Steve Mann – guitar
  • Monte Dunn – guitar
  • Donald Peake – guitar
  • Harold Battiste – piano
  • Don Randi – piano
  • Lyle Ritz – bass guitar
  • Cliff Hills – bass guitar
  • Frank Capp – drums
  • Hal Blaine – drums
  • Gene Estes – percussion
  • Brian Stone – percussion
  • Michel Rubini – harpsichord
  • Harold Battiste Jr. – arrangements
  • Stan Ross – engineer
  • Haig Adishian – design
  • Robert W. Young – photography

Track listing:

  1. I Got You Babe – Sonny Bono
  2. Unchained Melody – Hy Zaret, Alex North
  3. Then He Kissed Me – Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry
  4. Sing C’est la Vie – Sonny Bono, Charles Green, Brian Stone
  5. It’s Gonna Rain – Sonny Bono
  6. 500 Miles – Hedy West
  7. Just You – Sonny Bono
  8. The Letter – Don Harris, Dewey Terry
  9. Let It Be Me – Gilbert Bécaud, Mann Curtis, Pierre Delanoë
  10. You Don’t Love Me – Bo Diddley, Willie Cobba
  11. You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me – Smokey Robinson
  12. Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love – Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry

Gary Peacock

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On September 5, 2020, Gary Peacock died aged 85. He was a musician (bass), one of the most important figures in modern jazz history. He recorded and performed with major jazz figures such as Albert Ayler, Paul Bley, Bill Evans, Keith Jarret, Frank Amsallem, Bill Carrothers, Marc Copland, Marilyn Crispell, Don Ellis, Clare Fischer, Barney Kessel, Sonny Simmons, Prince Lasha, Misha Mengelberg, Don Pullen, Bud Shank, Ravi Shankar, John Surman, Ralph Towner, Mal Waldrom, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Jimmy Woods, Toninho Horta, and Masabumi Kikuchi. As leader, he released twelve albums.

Sacha Distel

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On July 22, 2004, Alexandre “Sacha” Distel died aged 71. He was musician (guitar), singer and actor, during his career worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Gourley, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Bobby Jaspar, Barney Kessel, John Lewis, Pierre Michelot, Bernard Peiffer, Henri Renaud, Fats Sadi, Art Simmons, Martial Solal, René Urtreger, and Barney Wilen.  In 1997, Distel was made “Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d’honneur”.

Barney Kessel

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On May 6, 2004, Barney Kessel died aged 80. He was musician (guitar), noted for his inversions and chord-based melodies. In his successful solo career he has recorded 31 album as a leader, was member of the group of session musicians  The Wrecking Crew, and has performed with many famous musicians including Georgie Auld, Chet Baker, Louis Bellson, Benny Carter, Buddy Collette, Harry Edison, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Hampton Hawes, Woody Herman, Billie Holiday, Milt Jackson, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Oliver Nelson, Anita O’Day, Art Pepper, Zoot Sims, Shorty Rogers, Sonny Rollins and Pete Rugolo.