Barney Kessel was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Noted in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as well as a "first call" guitarist for studio, film, and television recording sessions. Kessel was a member of the group of session musicians informally known as the Wrecking Crew.
Biography
He was Jewish. Kessel began his career as a teenager touring with local dance bands. When he was 16, he started playing with the Oklahoma A&M band, Hal Price & the Varsitonians. The band members nicknamed him "Fruitcake" because he practiced up to 16 hours a day. In the early 1940s he moved to Los Angeles, where for one year he was a member of the Chico Marx big band. He appeared in the film Jammin' the Blues, which 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 played jazz in clubs. In 1947 he recorded with Charlie Parker. He worked in Jazz at the Philharmonic and for one year in the early 1950s he was a member of the Oscar Peterson trio. After leaving the trio, he recorded several solo albums for Contemporary. He recorded a series of albums with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne as The Poll Winners because the three of them often won polls conducted by Metronome and DownBeat magazines. He was the guitarist on the album Julie Is Her Name by Julie London, which includes the standard "Cry Me a River," which sold a million copies and demonstrated Kessel's chordal approach to guitar. During the 1960s, Kessel worked for Columbia Pictures and was a member of a band of sessions musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. At one point after a two and a half hour session to record a one-chord song, "The Beat Goes On," Kessel is reported to have stood up and proclaimed, "Never have so many played so little for so much." He recorded with pop acts such as The Monkees and The Beach Boys and with jazz musicians Sonny Rollins and Art Tatum. He formed the ensemble Great Guitars with Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis. Kessel was rated the No. 1 guitarist in Esquire, Down Beat, and Playboy magazine polls between 1947 and 1960. From 1961 to 1974 Gibson Guitars manufactured Barney Kessel artist signature guitars in Standard and Custom models.
Death
Kessel, who had been in poor health after suffering a stroke in 1992, died of a brain tumor at his home in San Diego, California, on May 6, 2004, at the age of 80.
Personal life
Kessel was married to B. J. Baker. They were divorced in 1980. Kessel's sons Dan and David became record producers and session musicians, working with Phil Spector, John Lennon, Cher, and Leonard Cohen. He was married to Phyllis Magary Van Doren from 1992 until his death.
Discography
As leader
Barney Kessel
To Swing or Not to Swing
Kessel Plays Standards
Easy Like
Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By
The Poll Winners with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown
The Poll Winners Ride Again! with Shelly Manne, Ray Brown
Modern Jazz Performances from Bizet's Opera Carmen
