Barney Kessel: Kessel Plays Standards on LP

One of the first of the modern jazz guitarists to follow in the wake of Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel became a prolific recording artist for Contemporary in a series of dates which are noteworthy for their variety as well as their excellence. By using different instruments with the guitar, Kessel was able to make each recording session an entity unto itself. Here it is Bob Cooper's oboe and tenor saxophone that added the other colors to Barney's combination of harmonic sophistication and Oklahoma twang. When that inherent blues sensibility is applied to great material from the American Songbook, it is an unbeatable combination.

With Bob Cooper, Claude Williamson, Monty Budwig, Shelly Manne, Hampton Hawes, Red Mitchell, Chuck Thompson