THE BARNEY SET

The Barney Set is a straight ahead jazz set in the styling of the late Hard-Boppin great Barney Kessel. It’s paying homage, it’s a challenge and it's fun. That said, I really believe we need reminders of the stylings and works of the  greats especially in this playlist driven saturated era of music consumption.

 

To many people Barney is the underrecognized or unheard of guitar great you don’t know but you’ve heard!  Kessel was the first guitarist member of a corddry of LA session musicians that became known as the The Wrecking Crew.

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Kessel's guitar is heard on countless LA-based hits from the 60s, including songs by the Monkees and The Beach Boys' legendary Smile LP, radio commercials and wide range TV shows such as Gene Rodenberry’s legendary Star Trek TV series.  Barney was regarded along with Glen Campbell among the very best of the session guitarists of the day. He was one of the leading lights of the hard-bop movement. His admired playing ranked him No. 1 guitarist in Down Beat and Playboy readers polls for numerous years.

 

Barney’s tenuous stylings have greatly influenced my playing as well as some of my compositions particularly around harmonic, chordal juxtapositions. You can hear those influences in "JB Blues" and "Channeling Django". Of course, it's Dango-esk; however, the B section melody lines are Barney inspired. "Barney Homage" performed with long time bassist/collaborator Maggie Rizzi melds three Kessel tunes into a medley and a fitting tribute. "Barney Redux" is a newly minted arrangement and rework of the original Duo recording.

 

Lastly, I incorporate into the set my take on a few tunes Barney recorded on the 1956 Poll Winners LP with Ray Brown and Shelly Mann.  There are other surprises in this evolving work, all inspired by and with gratitude to one of the most influential guitarists you have never heard of that you heard many times!