Barney was a genius on guitar, another of the greats that have have passed. I worked on his guitar in my house in Boca Raton for about 4 hours. He played for me and my wife for an hour before he left to Brazil on a Sunday morning. He was a very kind man with nothing to hide. He was brilliant and an icon from the era of great jazz guitarists. RIP Barney, thank you for all the great inspiration and teaching of guitar with no limits! You will always be with us.
Is his Gibson fairly stock,or were the electronics,and that beautiful 'art deco' pick-up added,at some point? Both of these greats,prove that all you may need is one pick-up, one volume, and one tone knob.
So true! He plays a lot of very difficult stuff here and I can't believe he pulls it off. The right hand on the fast lines is amazing and so unique. There will never be another him.
That's an accurate observation and poignant comment on Barney';s musicianship . When I started realizing who the great guitarists were , in the field of jazz , Barney was always on top as the most inventive & rhythmically astute player available . Am blessed to have seen him perform three times over the years - - the last time being just two months before his '92 stroke .
@@markbridwell8972 I was fortunate enough to see him once with Tal Farlow and Emily Remler in the mid or late 80's at Fat Tuesdays in NYC. His energy output was amazing. He was sweating up a storm. It was a joyful night. You could tell they loved having Emily there.
I really get tired of people commenting on how they think Barney's sloppy. That is so annoying and completely untrue. He played with a fearless approach to keep things fresh, driving and reaching for uncharted territory. A lot of his style was very visceral and percussive, with raking, grinding and hard driving attack. It was all a part of the sound and feel he wanted. When he wanted to play clean, slow and articulate, he could as well as anyone on the planet. But nobody else could play like Barney. So that's what made his style even more intriguing. And he influenced a lot more players to break out and just go for it, play what you feel not what you think is safe. But the alternate picking snobs out there only hear the stuff they want and keep the silliness going... what can you do about that?
What can you do about it? And I know it was rhetorical. But I say, ignore it and enjoy Barney. 100 years from now people will still be talking about Barney and enjoying and absorbing his music. He'll still continue to impact newer players. The snobs, mostly are invisible. Will they create a lasting and known legacy? Probably not. As you said, Barney went for his thing. And that's whats important. To play your soul/spirit in a way that's recognizable and authentic and also hopefully enjoyable. He was all of that. And along the way, influenced hundreds if not thousands of guitarists because of it. And those same guitarists have gone onto influence others. That's what its about.
Herb was one of my very favorite guitarists of all time! Loved Barney as well, but Herb's playing made more sense to me. I was extremely fortunate to see Herb, Barney, & the great Charlie Byrd (billed as "The Great Guitars") in a small college venue that was, due to very poor advertising, almost empty! We were front and center!! What an amazing evening!!
Barney’s incredible of course. I’m here to show some love for Herb. He’s sometimes a bit overlooked bc he’s playing with Joe Pass or Barney. I’ve never heard anything played by him that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy
These guys were just so musical -- anybody can enjoy these tunes and their lines, no matter if they know a lot about jazz or not. They really had a great musical vocabulary and knew how to use it.
So it’s 5:30 am Sunday morning, making coffee just me and my cat Chloe, turn on the RU-vid machine and it gives me this…😳🤯🙌🏽👏🎶🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️❤️ From this morning forward, I am now a changed human being, thank you is the least I can say Mr Barney Kessel sir 🙌🏽👏🎶❤️
Chloe is one cool cat to have a friend nice enough to play her two of the best jazz guitars ever. The only thing that make this better is if Joe Pass and Lenny Breau would show up for a second set.
I was fortunate to have seen live Barney and Herb in the 70’s & early 80’s several times. Also Joe Pass, Les Paul, George Barnes, Kenny Burrell, Charlie Byrd, George Benson and others. BTW it is very apparent that Kessel was a major influence on a young Larry Coryell who is my favorite of the next generation of guitarists.
Favourite jazz musician quotes (one of); at a Kessel guitar seminar, one the attendees asked "How do you avoid clashes in harmony when you're playing with a piano player or other instrumentalist?" Kessel; "Well .... I would seek to establish if I were paying the piano player, he was paying me, or if we were both in the employ of a third party. It becomes a lot easier after that."
These guys along with Charlie Byrd came to my hometown in Wisconsin and played at a very small jazz club in 1979. Unfortunately I was out of town and did not get to go see them. Did see a ton of awesome shows there (Charlie Byrd solo was one of them) but sure wish I could have been there for that one.
I met both of them when they came through my town. Herb played like my teacher did and Barney just baffled me at the time. I've been playing 54 years now and am so glad to hear Barney play again.
Um mestre que nos deixou belas apresentações. Um gênio que nos deixou várias obras. Um gênio que nos deixa saudades de como é belo o som harmonioso de um instrumento bem tocado.
Makes my day. I used to watch it on Japanese satellite TV, but it was incomplete. I recorded a video, but I don't have it now. Nice to enjoy with high quality.
I got to see Barney in london 1983. He backed Marion Montgomery and also played solo guitar. I was mightily impressed, as I'd only heard him in a group setting before and that didn't really interest me (being a solo fingerstyle player) He was one of the few iconic players.
13:00 Brazil is great. Check out *Glenn Derringer -- Age 11 -- Performs Live - 1956* . Watch a young Glenn Derringer play Brazil on an all vacuum tube individual oscillator Conn Artist electronic organ model 700. It's a Perry Como episode in the 1950's. He went on to have a great organ career. Many of his recordings on RU-vid.
Glad i goy to see these two together at a small club in Portland Oregon some time in the later 70s perhaps, such a long time ago. They were just amazing and inspired me to find a full size jazz box.
I saw these two back in about 1972 at West Australian University nice theatre and production (Not a student,)with my Dad, a swing alto and clarinettist. Didn't know any of the repertoire at that young age, sounded like Chinese to me. Much more aware of both their creds and skills nowdays, thanks for posting.
I hate flatwounds but I love these guys. Barney, I first heard on 'on the Green Dolphin Str.' 54 years ago when I was a starter at age 16,,,,Althouh not a big standard jazz fan (Ornette is my thing) I still nostalgically enjoy these fine folk. (Barney's Feeling free with Elvin.Chuck and Bobby was to say in Ornette s words Something Else! :))))
BARNEY KESSEL belongs to the U.S. JAZZ guitarists elite and had a huge influence . Unfortunately I missed his rare venues in FRANCE during the seventies or eighties and it is very precious today to see and listen him playing alive through the net . I was a fan at the first note listening my mother 's JULIE LONDON 33T - Julie is her Name -and BARNEY's phenomenals guitar parts as priceless lessons for guitar players . THANKS § R.I.P . Mr. B.K.
I saw Barney Kessel play live on two occasions, both in the same club. I even talked to him a while before he started playing. I also talked a little bit to Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd, who he was playing with.
After Django, the most expressive guitar player ever... Kinda of chaotic and dirty sometimes, but this really adds a lot to the general performance. Improvise does not combine with tidy music... ;-)
If it ain't got that swing..... Music is nothing without that portion of dirt. I know it cause i play kind of rocknroll guitar my way. Can not do it with other musicians who don't understand my feeling.
I guess you could say Herb Ellis was slightly better technically and 'cleaner' (I don't really say it, others have) and he's great, sure. For me though, the even greater solos and for me, more interesting and moving are from Barney.
