At very best Barney Kessel is a tangential figure in the history of jazz. Apart from not being too well known outside of some inner, nerdy circle of jazz fetishists, Kessel didn’t spur on the evolution of the music. And it could even be said that he lagged behind some of those changes, not noticing or caring too much about them even to incorporate a modicum of forwardness in his playing. All of that said, he’s still a pretty decent player. No one would mistake his performance for that of Grant Green or Wes Montgomery – although the tone of that latter player would make for a good bookmark of Kessel’s style. This lesser known guitarist, though, apparently went through a period of critical acclaim during the mid to late fifties. And even if that was a fleeting moment over half a century ago, a few albums of his to lend an air of staid sophistication that jazz might have lacked at the time. Read more
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