Barney Kessel - Barney Kessel Story 1954-1962: Honey Rock

2023

In the 1950s BARNEY KESSEL was acknowledged as the premier Jazz guitarist in the US, routinely voted #1 in Esquire, Downbeat and Playboy magazine polls. Famous for his knowledge of chords, inversions and chord-based melodies, he recorded at least one solo LP per year, plus endless sessions and guest appearances. This compilation is drawn from his seventeen solo albums recorded between 1954 and 1962, largely for the specialist Contemporary label.

Two "bonus cuts" are included; Julie London's sumptuous 'Cry Me A River' from 1955, which is in essence a Barney Kessel guitar master-tutorial with vocal accompaniment, plus his own unlikely R&R hit, 'Honey Rock', which appeared on the flip of Ricky Nelson's million-selling 'You're My One And Only Love' in 1957. Kessel would go on to become one of the leading lights in LA's legendary Wrecking Crew, during the 60s, before resuming his love affair with Jazz in the late 70s.