Barney Kessel

This morning I discovered Barney Kessel on some DVDs hired from Amazon.co.uk - Legends of Jazz Guitar, volumes 1-3. To my ears he instantly stood out from the other greats on the film.

Firstly his choice of song was to my liking; Lady Be Good, Samba De Orfeu, and others that I love to play.

Secondly, his comping with walking basslines is another method I'm most interested in; a brilliant technique for the arrangement of two guitars with no bass player.

Lastly he solos with plenty of chord tones, something I really wish I could understand how to play.

Here's the afore-mentioned track, Lady Be Good (played with Herb Ellis), showing all of these techniques put to good use: