Hi, my name is Nathan from JazzGuitarLessons.net and you're listening to Album
Deep Dives.
In this episode we will be exploring one of the most iconic jazz guitar albums in
history, that is: Barney Kessel’s “The Poll Winners”, released in 1957.
With that curious title (and cover picture) there must be an interesting story behind
it right? Well, that’s correct, but I'll tell you a little bit about Barney before getting
into it. Barney Kessel was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1923. He first picked
up the guitar as a child, and at only 14 years old he decided to leave school to
pursue music professionally. His biggest influence by far was the genius of the
electric guitar: Charlie Christian (an Oklahoma guitarist himself). After spending
countless hours studying Charlie’s playing, Barney realized that he needed to
develop a style of his own after meeting his hero at a jam session and freezing on
the spot, not wanting to sound like an imitator. This led him to move to Los Angeles
in the early 1940’s, where he quickly secured a prestigious gig with the Ben Pollack
orchestra accompanying the famous comedian, musician, and actor, Chico Marx’s
stage shows. Soon after that, during the mid 40’s, he was the guitarist for some of
the most successful swing bands, including Charlie Barnet’s, Benny Godman’s,
and Artie Shaw’s respective bands. But his real breakthrough came when he
recorded together with Charlie Parker in 1947, when Barney was only 23 years old.
He sounded a bit stiff in comparison with the more experienced players in the
session, but he proved his prowess as a musician despite his young age, and 5
years later he would be hired to tour with Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown, which
skyrocketed his career. During the 50’s and 60’s he was one of the most in-
demand studio guitarists in the industry, playing on legendary records featuring
Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Anita O’Day, Julia London, Frank Sinatra, and
even The Beach Boys. During these years he enjoyed a very comfortable living,
but Barney, having always been keen about efficiency and self-improvement, felt
that studio life was halting his development as a musician, which led him to get
back to touring in 1960.
[music clip “Jordu” 00:00 – 00:25]
In 1956, Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne all won the polls in Down
beat, Playboy, and Metronome as the best jazz guitarist, bassist, and drummer
respectively. This "winning streak" is exactly what brought the trio together to
record as a group for the first time, and “The Poll Winners” was the album that
resulted from that legendary 1957 session. Barney Kessel’s earthiness permeates
the entire album, driven by the exciting interactions of Ray Brown’s bass and
Shelly Manne’s drums. It’s pretty amazing how well these musicians understood
each other during their very first recording session together.
The album opens with Duke Jordan’s “Jordu” in a fast swing tempo with an intense
introduction, and it quickly goes to a slightly more subdued interpretation of the
melody. Barney’s solo features his signature combination of swing and bebop
vocabulary, in which Charlie Christian’s influence is evident, but it certainly doesn’t
sound like an imitation. He is extremely melodic with his improv, quoting a few
famous melodies here and there, but giving them a special twist.
[music clip “Jordu” 00:45 – 01:20]
Barney Kessel’s interpretation of the famous standard “Satin Doll” is quite stellar.
During the 6 and a half minutes of this track he uses almost every trick in the bag,
and not in a cheeky way, but in imaginative manners to make each new idea shine
with a different light. There is so much to show from this track, but I’ll just highlight
a couple of the most interesting moments.
Barney Kessel’s sound has often been described as “earthy”, and during the
second chorus of his solo we can really appreciate why. As I said before, Barney
grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, and during his childhood one of his first
musical experiences was listening to train workers play. Their sound was full of
note bends, slides, and other traditional blues techniques. These experiences
stayed with Barney and ended up being incorporated into his playing.
[music clip “Satin Doll” 02:14 – 02:50]
Shortly after this, Barney moves on to play a frenzy of sixteenth note bebop
phrases. He is generally considered to be a West Coast Jazz player, but here it is
as if he is telling the world “Look, I can also play bebop like any east coaster, no
problem.”
[music clip “Stain Doll” 03:20 – 03:56]
To continue our exploration into his improv style, let’s talk about his solo on the
next track of this album “It Could Happen To You”. Barney Kessel really
showcases his harmonic knowledge on this one. We won’t show it here, but check
out his chord melody arrangement of the melody, it’s gorgeous and features some
amazing voice leading. Following his take on the head of the tune, he starts his
solo with some mellow single note playing and pretty quickly he begins to use more
chords. He harmonizes his melodies, comps behind himself with some chord
shots, and then goes on to playing counterpoint with himself. To find this
improvisational imagination and harmonic freedom is pretty surprising for a 50’s
guitar record, as the guitar had just been put on the centre stage as a lead
instrument by Charlie Christian in the early 40’s.
[music clip “It Could Happen To You” 01:41 – 02:13]
Now, let’s change gears for a bit and talk about Barney Kessel’s comping. Barney
had vast experience playing with the most renowned swing bands during the mid
40s, and this led to a deep understanding of big band music and arrangements.
This couldn’t be shown more clearly than listening to his comping approach. During
his accompaniment to the bass solo on this album’s next track: “Mean to Me”,
Barney chose to play background figures, just like a big band would do. His
comping is extremely motivic and adds so much to the mix. He leaves lots of space
for the bass to have freedom, but gives him so much more material to work with,
both rhythmically and melodically. It’s some of the best comping over a bass solo
I’ve ever heard.
[music clip “Mean to Me” 02:54 – 03:38]
“The Poll Winners” also features a very surprising and creative take on “You Go To
My Head”. The trio basically treats it as a bass and guitar duet, but instead of
playing in a traditional way, they decided to treat it a lot more freely. The guitar
plays a chord melody for the most part, while the bass fluidly improvises under it. It
creates such an interesting and unfamiliar texture—we're used to listening to the
higher voices move more freely while the bass holds everything together with a
more “stable” rhythmic approach. Apart from this innovative texture, Barney
Kessel’s voice leading is masterful. His understanding of counterpoint and
harmony in general reminds me of George Van Eps’, but Barney certainly has his
own style.
[music clip “You Go To My Head” 00:00 – 00:30]
As a conclusion to this album, Barney and company decided to record “Nagasaki”,
a Dixon and Warren tune from the late 20s. They play it with a fast swing tempo,
and it fits surprisingly well as a bebop tune. In fact, it’s the only real “bebop” tune in
the record, and it certainly leaves the listener with a lot to take in. Barney shows off
his effortless technique, relying heavily on legato lines and economy picking, which
makes his lines sound very fluid. His control over the bebop language is
impressive, and his solo manages to keep the momentum going to the very end.
It’s the grand virtuosic ending any supergroup album could ask for.
[music clip “Nagasaki” 00:39 – 01:10]
Fortunately for everyone that liked this album, these three marvelous musicians
recorded 4 more albums together. These are: “The Poll Winners Ride Again!”
(1958), “Poll Winners Three!” (1960), “The Poll Winners Exploring The Scene”
(1960), and “Straight Ahead” (1976). Apart from these, I would encourage you to
check out a couple more great recordings by Barney. “To Swing Or Not To Swing”
(1956) is a fantastic album featuring Barney’s inventive improvisational skills, as
well as his sensibility as an accompanist. “Let’s Cook” (1957) is an album that
captures the spontaneity of jazz to perfection. It was the result of a recording
session in which the original lead artist couldn’t show up, so Barney was made
leader, and well, listen to it and find out how it went!
Thank you for listening to this episode of Album Deep Dives, I hope it’s been a fun
and interesting listen. Unfortunately, Barney Kessel is no longer with us, as he lost
his battle with brain cancer in 2004. Nevertheless, he is one of the early guitar
giants that helped to shape the sound of this wonderful instrument in the world of
jazz, and his legacy will always be alive.
Once again, my name is Nathan from JazzGuitarLessons.net, and thank you again
for listening. If you enjoyed this episode of Album Deep Dives, you can find more
just like it on your Jazz Guitar Mastery program. Until next time, happy shedding!
