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Author Topic:  Back home with Barney Kessel
Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 2 Nov 2022 1:03 pm    
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Just had to revisit the approach of my fav all time player Barney Kessel

So much to learn from his approach.

https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com/2022/11/02/lap-steel-guitar-barney-kessel/
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
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Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 2 Nov 2022 1:19 pm    
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Cool chording, Stefan!

I too love Barney's playing and especially, his use of chord voicings with open strings. I translated this one to lap steel. The opening riff to his tune "Foreign Intrigue". I took my best shot at naming the chord voicings when I did this a few years ago.



The original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlIX7Kh0AvY
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Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 2 Nov 2022 1:45 pm    
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Wicked. Love the poll winners albums. Was listening to them today.

Barney plays such amazing lines and no matter how out there he goes with the melody it always seems to fit. Never atonal and always based on a melody. I think his style is the closest to what I’d love to emulate in this lifetime if I have the time.

You know Andy I now have to try that tomorrow and see how it sounds.

I’m learning a lot of his substitution techniques are as Barry Harris described in diminished 6th scales. Thankfully my tuning has them all just need my fingers to catch up. Laughing
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com

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David Ball


From:
North Carolina High Country
Post  Posted 2 Nov 2022 2:14 pm    
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The trio recordings that Barney Kessel made with Oscar Peterson are among my favorites of all time...

Dave
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Bill Hatcher

 

From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
Post  Posted 2 Nov 2022 7:30 pm    
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friend of mine here in atlanta had kessel come play solo at his very upscale jazz restaurant back in the 70s. i came one night and got to meet barney and hear him play. pretty amazing. my fav kessel is the julie london recording, but all his work is just fabulous.
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Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2022 3:26 am    
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His comping on "Cry Me a River" is both iconic and brilliant, Bill. Here are the voicings he used:

https://www.soundslice.com/slices/GCLcc/
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Tim Toberer


From:
Nebraska, USA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2022 6:09 am    
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Keep it up Stefan! It seems like your vision and hard work is paying off.

Quote:
His comping on "Cry Me a River" is both iconic and brilliant, Bill. Here are the voicings he used:

https://www.soundslice.com/slices/GCLcc/

Thanks for that link, I love that site!
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Chris Brooks

 

From:
Providence, Rhode Island
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2022 9:11 am    
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The Poll Winners Three LP was an early revelation for me.

Later I met Barney (took lessons at his Hollywood shop) and had a nice conversation with him on the Steve Allen Show set.
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Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2022 11:59 am    
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Follow your passions, whatever they might be and wherever they might lead you. That is always the way I have approached music. I do what interests me. That's what makes each of us unique.

I always have to remind myself in these pursuits that what matters is not just being able to play it on the steel, but to actually make it sound as great as possible without losing sight of the traits that make it so special. So, it's a balancing act.

My passions are all over the place, and I have always been into modern music and sounds, especially modern harmony, and even atonality. But oddly enough my focus right now is on Ragtime--I feel like I have a lot of unfinished business with it. It's like the opposite ends of the spectrum. I don't know where it will lead me, but I am writing a lot. So, whatever inspires you is where you should direct your attention.

I grew up in the Guitar Player magazine 2nd generation--the cats like Howard Roberts, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis etc. were columnists in the magazine and I read their columns but I had little interest in the music they played. George Van Eps was the one exception. It was my loss, but I was a rock and roller who was drawn to the sounds of Pat Martino, George Benson, Scofield, McLaughlin and Holdsworth etc. That much hasn't changed, except for the fact that I prefer to listen most everything else besides guitar.
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Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2022 1:29 pm    
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Here is another Kessel concept. scatting the song/feel of melody from memory.

https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com/2022/11/03/scatting-a-song-from-memory/

Feels more freeing.

Trying to remember Killer Joe Feel from Buddy Emmons from memory. Messing around with some Kessel substitutions and scatting the idea vocally before I actually see what the right chords and key are.
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com

"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist"
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David Matzenik


From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2022 2:52 pm    
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Very beautiful sounds. Nice to see the picking from that angle on those syncopated runs.
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Andy Volk


From:
Boston, MA
Post  Posted 17 Nov 2022 5:43 am    
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Here's an intro I interpreted for steel from Kessel's solo chord melody arrangement of "Autumn Leaves." It has an almost classical vibe but could work with a more swinging feel for a minor key jazz tune or even a slow Hawaiian tune. I included a few variations. Kind of stiff and unswinging on my part but here's what each sounds like.

https://soundcloud.com/aev/kessel-intro-demo


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