Jazz / Bop, Cool
The Poll Winners
Barney Kessel - Guitar
Ray Brown - Bass
Shelly Manne - Drums
From the first riff-like chorus of "Caravan," it is powerfully clear that the empathy of these three giants had in no way diminished in the fifteen years between their fourth and this, their fifth "Poll Winners" album. Recorded in 1975, the Straight Ahead date found Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne in a mood to rely on experience and instinct more than on the tight arrangements of their previous encounters. The result was an overall feeling of looseness and adventure within the bounds of mature musical judgment. A trio of the most experienced musicians in jazz were indulging themselves in a blowing session. The surprising rewards to the listener include an unorthodox treatment of the hitherto sedate ballad, "Laura."
Bryan Koenig Cover Photo
George Kershaw Design
Joy Bryan Koenig Photography
Lester Koenig Producer
Phil DeLancie Digital Mastering
Roy DuNann Engineer
Tamaki Beck Mastering
15 years after their last joint recordings, The Poll Winners (a trio with guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne) had a reunion for this excellent session which has been reissued on CD. All three players had grown quite a bit musically since the 1950s and Kessel in particular is heard in excellent form on the three standards and three swinging originals. Overall this is the best all-around recording by The Poll Winners and is easily recommended to bop fans. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Barney Kessel
Active Decades: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Oct 17, 1923 in Muskogee, OK
Died: May 06, 2004 in San Diego, CA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Bop, Cool, West Coast Jazz
One of the finest guitarists to emerge after the death of Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel was a reliable bop soloist throughout his career. He played with a big band fronted by Chico Marx (1943), was fortunate enough to appear in the classic jazz short Jammin' the Blues (1944), and then worked with the big bands of Charlie Barnet (1944-1945) and Artie Shaw (1945); he also recorded with Shaw's Gramercy Five. Kessel became a busy studio musician in Los Angeles, but was always in demand for jazz records. He toured with the Oscar Peterson Trio for one year (1952-1953) and then, starting in 1953, led an impressive series of records for Contemporary that lasted until 1961 (including several with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne in a trio accurately called the Poll Winners). After touring Europe with George Wein's Newport All-Stars (1968), Kessel lived in London for a time (1969-1970). In 1973, he began touring and recording with the Great Guitars, a group also including Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd. A serious stroke in 1992 put Barney Kessel permanently out of action, but many of his records (which include dates for Onyx, Black Lion, Sonet, and Concord, in addition to many of the Contemporaries) are available, along with several video collections put out by Vestapol. Kessel was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 2001, which eventually took his life in May of 2004. He was 80 years old.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
