Barney Kessel
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Barney Kessel (17 October 1923 - 6 May 2004) was an American jazz guitarist.
Kessel was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA. He began his career as a teenager touring with local dance bands.
Barney Kessel is known for his innovative work in the guitar trio setting. In the 1950s, he made a series of albums called "The Poll Winners" with Ray Brown on bass and Shelley Manne on drums.
A "first call" guitarist at Columbia Pictures, during the 1960s Kessell became one of the most in-demand session guitarists in America, and is considered a key member of the group of first-call session musicians now usually known as The Wrecking Crew. In this capacity he played on hundreds of famous pop recordings including albums and singles by Phil Spector, The Beach Boys, The Monkees and many others.
Kessel died of brain cancer in San Diego, California. He had been in poor health after suffering a stroke in 1992.
Kessel was a member of the Oscar Peterson Trio with Ray Brown. The guitar chair was called the hardest gig in show business since Peterson often liked to play at breakneck tempos of up to 300 beats per minute. Herb Ellis took over from Kessell after a year or so. Template:Musician-stubde:Barney Kessel pl:Barney Kessel