Barney Kessel was born on October 17, 1923, and passed away on May 6, 2004. He was an American jazz guitarist who was especially known for his understanding of chords, chord inversions, and melodies that use chords. He was part of many well-known jazz groups and was often chosen first for studio, film, and television recording sessions. Kessel was also a member of a group of session musicians who were informally called the Wrecking Crew.

Early life

Kessel was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1923 to a Jewish family. His father was an immigrant from Hungary who ran a shoe shop. Kessel was a self-taught guitarist, and his only formal musical training was three months of guitar lessons when he was 12 years old.

Career

Barney Kessel began his career as a teenager, working with local swing bands. At age 16, he joined the Oklahoma A&M band, Hal Price & the Varsitonians. His bandmates called him "Fruitcake" because he practiced more than 16 hours each day. Kessel became well-known partly because of his youth and partly because he was the only white musician performing in all-African-American bands at black clubs.

In the early 1940s, he moved to Los Angeles and was part of the Chico Marx big band for one year. Norman Granz noticed his talent, and Kessel appeared in the 1944 film Jammin' the Blues, which also featured Lester Young. Soon after, he played in the bands of Charlie Barnet and Artie Shaw. During the day, he worked as a studio musician, and at night, he performed bop-style jazz in clubs. In 1947, he recorded with Charlie Parker. He later worked with Jazz at the Philharmonic and was part of the Oscar Peterson trio for one year in the early 1950s. After leaving the trio, he recorded several solo albums for Contemporary Records. He also made a series of albums with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne, called The Poll Winners, because the three of them often won polls in Metronome and DownBeat magazines. Kessel played guitar on Julie London’s 1955 album Julie Is Her Name, which includes the song "Cry Me a River." The album sold a million copies and showed Kessel’s style of playing chords on the guitar.

In the 1960s, Kessel worked for Columbia Pictures and was part of a group of session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. During one recording session, he said, "Never have so many played so little for so much," after a long session to record a simple song called "The Beat Goes On." He recorded with pop groups like The Monkees and The Beach Boys, as well as jazz musicians Sonny Rollins and Art Tatum. Kessel played the opening notes of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album on the track "Wouldn’t It Be Nice." For this, he used a 12-string hybrid mando-guitar connected directly to the recording equipment, as requested by Brian Wilson. Later, Kessel focused on his jazz career, performing live and recording music. He also formed a group called Great Guitars with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis.

Between 1947 and 1960, Kessel was ranked the top guitarist in Esquire, DownBeat, and Playboy magazine polls.

From 1957 to 1958, Kay Musical Instrument Company produced the Kay Barney Kessel signature series guitars, including models "Pro," "Artist," and "Jazz Special."

From 1961 to 1974, Gibson Guitars made Barney Kessel artist signature guitars in Standard and Custom models.

In 1986, Kessel (with Rumark Video Inc.) released an instructional series called Jazz Guitar Improvisation on VHS. As of 2018, this series is available for free on YouTube.

Artistry and equipment

Jazz music educator Wolf Marshall stated that the style Barney Kessel used in his music was "a natural development from the electric guitar sound started by Charlie Christian and adopted by most musicians who followed him." Kessel’s unique "warm and clear sound" was created using hollow-body electric guitars with an arched top, with the neck pickup turned on, and played through a tube amplifier. His guitar playing was based on jazz styles from the 1930s and 1940s, influenced by swing and bebop music from that time. Kessel was also influenced by later styles such as post-bop modal jazz, hard bop, and free jazz. He specifically named Charlie Parker, Pat Martino, Oscar Peterson, Lester Young, and Django Reinhardt as people who affected his playing style. His music also included strong blues elements, both in chords and single notes. Kessel was known for his chord techniques and single-note solos. During his career, Kessel mainly used a sunburst Gibson ES-350P guitar made in 1947 or 1948, which he modified extensively. He replaced the original pickup with a "Charlie Christian" bar pickup, swapped the volume and tone knobs with ones from a record player, removed the pickguard, and added dot inlays to the fingerboard instead of the original ones. Throughout his career, Kessel used various combo amplifiers made by Fender, Gibson, and Univox. He played with a heavy-gauge rounded pick and used medium-gauge Darco-wound polished guitar strings.

Personal life

Kessel was married four times. He first married Gail Genovia Farmer in the 1950s and 1960s. They had two sons, Dan and David Kessel. Later, he married singer and music helper Betty Jane (BJ) Baker. They were married for 16 years and divorced in 1980. After marrying Joanne “Jo” Kessel for ten years, he married his fourth wife, Phyllis Kessel. She stayed with him for the last 12 years of his life.

His sons, Dan and David Kessel, became successful record producers and musicians. They worked with famous people like Phil Spector, John Lennon, and Leonard Cohen.

Legacy and influence

Kessel is considered an important figure in the development of jazz guitar. He is known for his advanced knowledge of chords and his ability to smoothly combine bebop style with the guitar's playing techniques. His work with the "Poll Winners" trio and the Wrecking Crew helped him become known as one of the most versatile guitarists in American music history.

• In 1999, he was added to the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame for his contributions to jazz.
• He often ranked highest in the DownBeat, Metronome, and Playboy jazz polls during the 1950s.
• His special Gibson and Kay guitar models are still very popular among jazz guitarists and collectors because of their unique sound.

Death

Kessel had poor health after having a stroke in 1992, which ended his career. Twelve years later, he died from a brain tumor at his home in San Diego, California on May 6, 2004, at the age of 80.