Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Easy Like from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
2. Tenderly from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
3. Lullaby Of Birdland from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
4. What Is There To Say? from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
5. Bernardo from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
6. Vicky's Dream from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
7. Salute To Charlie Christian from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
8. That's All from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
9. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
10. Just Squeeze Me from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
11. April In Paris from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
12. North Of The Border from `Barney Kessel: Vol 1 - Easy Like'
13. Speak Low from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
14. Love Is Here To Stay from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
15. On A Slow Boat To China from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
16. How Long Has This Been Going On from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
17. My Old Flame from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
18. Jeepers Creepers from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
19. Barney's Blues from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
20. Prelude To A Kiss from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
21. A Foggy Day from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
22. You Stepped Out Of A Dream from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
23. I Didn't Know What Time It Was from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'
24. 64 Bars On Wilshire from `Barney Kessel: Vol 2 - Barney Kessel Plays Standards'

Disc 2:

1. Begin The Blues from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
2. Louisiana from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
3. Happy Feeling from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
4. Embraceable You from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
5. Wail Street from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
6. Indiana from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
7. Moten Swing from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
8. Midnight Sun from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
9. Contemporary Blues from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
10. Don't Blame Me from `Barney Kessel: Vol 3 - To Swing Or Not To Swing'
11. Cheerful Little Earful from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
12. Makin' Whoopee from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
13. My Reverie from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
14. Blues For A Playboy from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
15. Love Is For The Very Young from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
16. Carioca from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
17. Mountain Greenery from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
18. Indian Summer from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
19. Gone With The Wind from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
20. Laura from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
21. I Love You from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'
22. Fascinating Rhythm from `Barney Kessel: Vol 4 - Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #963 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-11
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Born an Okie from Muskogee on October 17th 1923 Barney Kessel was a self taught guitarist whose main influence was the legendary and tragic jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. After playing in local bands Barney relocated to Los Angeles where he freelanced for such great band leaders as Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw, Les Brown and Benny Goodman, not a bad apprenticeship!
AVID Entertainment presents a fully re-mastered Double CD on our AVID JAZZ imprint featuring our hero as leader of his own groups in the 1950's. We include his first four LP's in their entirety (minus one short track) " Easy Like", "Plays Standards", " To Swing Or Not To Swing" and " Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By". Supported by such fine award winning musicians as Shelly Manne, Bud Shank, Harry Eddison and Bill Perkins these four albums show us what a superb guitarist and arranger Barney Kessel really was!
Settle back and enjoy!

Customer Reviews

COOL BOP-INFLUENCED WEST COAST JAZZ
There's only one track missing from this compilation, which is excusable, given that both CDs run to over 79 minutes. The albums in question, which date from the mid-fifties, are "Easy Like" (on which Bud Shank plays flute and alto), "BK Plays Standards" (featuring Bob Cooper on oboe), "To Swing Or Not To Swing" (including Harry "Sweets" Edison, Georgie Auld, Jimmy Rowles, Al Hendrickson, and Shelley Manne, but minus "Twelfth Street Rag"), and "Music To Listen To BK By". The influence of Charlie Christian on Kessel's playing is in evidence throughout, and I've thoroughly enjoyed this compilation of cool bop-influenced West Coast jazz.

|Barney's Bonanza
Up till now I've had limited access to Barney Kessel but this double CD makes me wonder why I've held back. In fact, you've got 4 albums covering a range of stykes. Personally I prefer Blues-based numbers (e.g. 'Barney's Blues') to the more elaborate (e.g. 'A foggy Day'). Barney appears at his best when producing 'standards of standards' (e.g. 'Embraceable You' or 'Fascinating Rhythm'). If you like guitar jazz or just jazz itself, this is a great example.

Background Jazz
I love jazz guitar and know that Kessel is rated as one of the best and so bought this album with high expectations, however, the overall feel of these recordings is of bland 50s West Coast jazz. The music never asserts itself, and even though Kessel's technique can't be faulted, to my ears it's just plain boring - safe, unassuming arrangements of (mostly) standards - something that might have accompanied suburban cocktail parties of the time as background music. If you know what you are getting and like this kind of music then this compilation represents good value for money, but I don't suppose that many modern jazz guitar fans will appreciate it.