Barney Kessel

October 17, 1923 — Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA

In a near six-decade career, he was rated the #1 guitarist in Esquire, Downbeat and Playboy magazine polls between 1947 and 1960. Barney Kessel, a pioneer of the electric guitar and a master of harmonic improvisations, also recorded over fifty albums including a number of innovative albums with drummer Shelly Manne and bassist Ray Brown that were remarkable for the lack of a pianist. He also performed with the Oscar Peterson Trio and ensembles with Charlie Parker, Charlie Barnet, Art Tatum and Artie Shaw, and with performers Elvis Presley, Liberace and The Beach Boys. Leaving the jazz world for studio work, between 1967 and 1970, he operated Barney Kessel's Music World in Hollywood, but, in 1972, he returned to full-time stage work. A stroke in 1992 curtailed his career.