Barney Kessel
- Instrument:
- Guitar
- Styles:
- Swing, Bop, Vocal, Cool Jazz, Big Band, Easy Listening, Bossa Nova, Latin Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Hard Bop
Best Barney Kessel Albums
Leader albums ranked by reissues and demand.
Four!
Hampton Hawes !!!! With Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne & Red Mitchell
1959
Contemporary Records
Vol. 3, To Swing Or Not To Swing
Barney Kessel
1956
Contemporary Records
Volume 1: Easy Like
Barney Kessel
1956
Contemporary Records
Feeling Free
Barney Kessel
1969
Contemporary Records
Poll Winners Three!
Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne & Ray Brown
1960
Contemporary Records
Swinging Easy!
Barney Kessel
1974
Black Lion Records
Barney Kessel Volume 2
Barney Kessel
1954
Contemporary Records
Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By
Barney Kessel
1957
Contemporary Records
Lighthouse At Laguna
Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars ✳ Barney Kessel ✳ Hampton Hawes Trio With Shelly Manne
1956
Contemporary Records
Great Guitars, (Charlie Byrd / Barney Kessel / Herb Ellis)
Great Guitars, The, Charlie Byrd / Barney Kessel / Herb Ellis
1975
Timeline
Key Barney Kessel studio albums by decade, with the labels and styles that define each period.
| Decade | Key albums | Labels | Styles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s |
| Contemporary Records | Cool Jazz, Bop, Latin Jazz, Hard Bop |
| 1960s |
| Contemporary Records, Reprise Records, RCA Victor | Bop, Bossa Nova, Cool Jazz, Post Bop |
| 1970s |
| Black Lion Records, Concord Jazz | Swing, Bop |
| 1980s |
| Concord Jazz, Concord Records, Contemporary Records | Cool Jazz, Bop, Bossa Nova, Contemporary Jazz |
| 1990s |
| Barna Record Lab, Contemporary Records, Black Lion Records | Cool Jazz, Bop |
Albums by Style
Top albums grouped by style.
Bop
Swinging Easy!
Barney Kessel
1974
Black Lion Records
Poll Winners Three!
Barney Kessel
1960
Contemporary Records
Music To Listen To Barney Kessel By
Barney Kessel
1957
Contemporary Records
Let's Cook!
Barney Kessel
1962
Contemporary Records
Cool Jazz
Barney Kessel
Barney Kessel
1954
Contemporary Records
Vol. 3, To Swing Or Not To Swing
Barney Kessel
1956
Contemporary Records
Barney Kessel Volume 2
Barney Kessel
1954
Contemporary Records
Some Like It Hot
Barney Kessel
1959
Contemporary Records
Breakfast At Tiffany's
Barney Kessel And His Men
1962
Reprise Records
Swing
On Fire
Barney Kessel
1965
Emerald Records
Summertime In Montreux
Barney Kessel
1973
Black Lion Records
Live At The Jazz Mill 1954
Barney Kessel
2016
Modern Harmonic
Spontaneous Combustion
Barney Kessel
Contemporary Records
Similar Artists
Artists with similar styles and catalogs.
Barney Kessel Discography
Barney Kessel studio albums as leader and sideman.
Total: 715 releases
| Artist | Album | Label | Leader/Sideman | Style | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ella Mae Morse | The Patty Cake Man / Invitation To The Blues | Capitol Records | Sideman | Vocal | 1944 |
| Johnny Mercer | Sam's Got Him / Duration Blues | Capitol Records | Sideman | Vocal | 1944 |
| Ella Mae Morse | Hello, Suzanne / Why Shouldn't I? | Capitol Records | Sideman | Vocal | 1944 |
| Charlie Barnet And His Orchestra | Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are / What A Diff'rence A Day Made | Decca | Sideman | Big Band | 1944 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive / Jumpin' On The Merry-Go-Round | Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1944 |
| Charlie Ventura Sextet | Who's Sorry Now / The Man I Love | Black & White | Sideman | 1945 | |
| Artie Shaw And His Gramercy Five | The Grabtown Grapple / The Sad Sack | Victor | Sideman | Swing | 1945 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | That's For Me / Yolanda | Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1945 |
| Barney Kessel's All Stars | Slick Chick / Man I Love | Atomic Records | Sideman | 1945 | |
| Charlie Barnet And His Orchestra | Skyliner / West End Blues | Decca | Sideman | Big Band | 1945 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | September Song / Little Jazz | Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1945 |
| Charlie Ventura Sextet | Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen / S'wonderful | Black & White | Sideman | Bop | 1945 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | Let's Take The Long Way Home / Lady Day | Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1945 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | I'll Never Be The Same / 'S Wonderful | Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1945 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | Bedford Drive / Tabu | Victor | Sideman | Swing | 1945 |
| Herb Jeffries, Eddie Beal Trio, Timmie Rogers, Excelsior Hep Cats | At Least You Could Have Saved Me A Dream / Bring Enough Cloths For Three Days | Excelsior Records | Sideman | Rhythm & Blues | 1945 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | Thrill Of A Lifetime / Lucky Number | RCA Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1946 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | They Didn't Believe Me / Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man | RCA Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1946 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You / Time On My Hands | RCA Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1946 |
| Artie Shaw And His Orchestra | Summertime / The Maid With The Flaccid Air | Victor | Sideman | Big Band | 1946 |
Barney Kessel Collaborations
Players they worked with most often, as leader and as sideman.
As Leader
| Musician | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Shelly Manne | Drums | 13 |
| Monty Budwig | Bass | 7 |
| Red Mitchell | Bass | 7 |
| Harry Babasin | Bass | 6 |
| Wardell Gray | Tenor Saxophone | 6 |
| Jimmy Rowles | Piano | 6 |
| Herb Ellis | Guitar | 6 |
| Don Lamond | Drums | 5 |
| Arnold Ross | Piano | 5 |
| Hampton Hawes | Piano | 5 |
As Sideman
| Musician | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Ray Brown | Bass | 106 |
| Oscar Peterson | Piano | 93 |
| Norman Granz | Supervised By | 57 |
| Alvin Stoller | Drums | 57 |
| Shelly Manne | Drums | 40 |
| Charlie Shavers | Trumpet | 37 |
| Red Callender | Bass | 33 |
| Joe Mondragon | Bass | 31 |
| Harry Edison | Trumpet | 30 |
| Jimmy Rowles | Piano | 27 |
Styles & Genres Distribution
Style and genre mix across their releases.
Styles
| Style | Releases | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Swing | 116 | 6.3% |
| Bop | 99 | 5.4% |
| Vocal | 94 | 5.1% |
| Cool Jazz | 64 | 3.5% |
| Big Band | 56 | 3% |
| Easy Listening | 23 | 1.2% |
| Bossa Nova | 17 | 0.9% |
| Latin Jazz | 11 | 0.6% |
| Contemporary Jazz | 11 | 0.6% |
| Hard Bop | 9 | 0.5% |
Genres
| Genre | Releases | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Jazz | 545 | 29.5% |
| Pop | 71 | 3.8% |
| Rock | 30 | 1.6% |
| Stage & Screen | 28 | 1.5% |
| Blues | 24 | 1.3% |
| Folk, World, & Country | 15 | 0.8% |
| Latin | 14 | 0.8% |
| Funk / Soul | 12 | 0.7% |
| Reggae | 3 | 0.2% |
| Non-Music | 3 | 0.2% |
Top Labels
Labels with the most releases in their catalog.
| Label | Releases |
|---|---|
| Verve Records | 210 |
| Contemporary Records | 54 |
| Clef Records | 46 |
| Mercury | 44 |
| Capitol Records | 43 |
| RCA Victor | 29 |
| Giants Of Jazz | 25 |
| RCA | 22 |
| Norgran Records | 21 |
| Black Lion Records | 21 |
Key Personnel
Frequent producers, engineers, and studio credits.
| Person | Role | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| Various | Leader | 65 |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Leader | 26 |
| Billie Holiday | Leader | 24 |
| David Stone Martin | Artwork | 19 |
| Oscar Peterson | Leader | 19 |
| David Stone Martin | Cover | 15 |
| Lester Koenig | Producer | 13 |
| Charlie Parker | Leader | 13 |
| Norman Granz | Producer | 12 |
| Julie London | Leader | 12 |