Kessel began his career as a teenager touring with local dance bands before moving on to bands such as that led by Chico Marx. He quickly established himself as a key post-Charlie Christian jazz guitarist. In 1944 he participated in the film Jammin the Blues, which featured Lester Young, and in 1947 he recorded with Charlie Parkers New Stars on the Relaxin at Camarillo session for Dial Records. He was rated the No. 1 guitarist in Esquire, Down Beat, and Playboy magazine polls between 1947 and 1960. Kessel is known for his innovative work in the guitar trio setting. In the 1950s, he made a series of albums called The Poll Winners with Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. He was also the guitarist on the album Julie Is Her Name (1955) by Julie London, which includes the standard Cry Me a River; this million-selling song features a guitar part from Kessel which illustrates his melodic chordal approach in a minimal jazz group. Kessel was also a member of the Oscar Peterson Trio with Brown for a year, leaving in 1953. The guitar chair was called the hardest gig in show business since Peterson often liked to play at breakneck tempos youtu.be/8BkeBD2IVZw
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:53:25 +0000
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