SEARCH RESULTS FOR: Barney Kessel
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(Guitar, 1923–2004) Barney Kessel took inspiration from his fellow Oklahoman, guitarist Charlie Christian, and developed an electric-guitar style that straddled swing and bop in effective fashion. He was featured in the Oscar-nominated short film Jammin’ The Blues (1944), and recorded with Charlie Parker in 1947. A stint with the Oscar Peterson Trio in 1952–53 led to recordings as ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

Charlie Christian was the last great figure to emerge from the jazz scene of the 1930s. He not only brought a perfectly formed approach to his music, but also an entirely new musical platform – the electric guitar. His career in the big time was brief, but Christian was a lighthouse whose beam still illuminates anyone with serious intentions ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

With his work as a studio player and as a prolific solo and guest artist, Larry Carlton (b. 1948) has long been known as a guitarist’s guitarist. Carlton has won three Grammys for his performances and compositions. Carlton started learning to play guitar when he was six years old. He warmed to jazz in high school and was influenced by ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

The original rock’n’roll lead guitarist, Scotty Moore (b. 1931) was born near Gadsden, Tennessee. Moore began playing guitar at the age of eight, largely self-taught. Although he aspired to playing jazz like Barney Kessel and Tal Farlow, he was also influenced by country guitarists like Merle Travis and, in particular, Chet Atkins. After Navy service ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

(Piano, arranger, composer, 1911–79) Stan Kenton pushed big-band jazz in new directions throughout his career, and in the process divided critical opinion more radically than any other bandleader. He formed his first band in 1940, which became the Artistry in Rhythm Orchestra in 1942. Imaginative arrangements and excellent soloists ensured the band’s success. It gave way ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

Jazz icon Tal Farlow (1921–98) wowed fans and other guitarists with his blazing speed and physical ability, facilitated by his large hands, to create unique, extended voicings. Farlow was equally well known for his semi-reclusiveness. Trained as a sign painter, he frequently dropped out of the music scene for long periods, living a quiet life on ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

No one had ever produced records like Phil Spector. There had been lavish orchestrations and raucous sounds, but until the early 1960s, the elements were clearly defined in recordings, with a fair amount of separation allotted to a limited number of rhythm and percussion instruments within the confines of a mainly monaural medium. Spector changed all that. Applying ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer

As the end of the twentieth century approached, the United States – its culture included – entered a rare period of recapitulation, retrieval and, ultimately, renewal. The election as President of ageing Ronald Reagan, ex-movie star and California governor, introduced unexpected neo-conservatism, an ideology that looked back to a rosy, though mythical, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

Universally acknowledged as one of the twentieth century’s emblematic composers, Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington used his long-standing touring orchestra as a tool to create wholly unique tonal colours and a distinctive harmonic language in jazz. His career was characterized by the close and long-lasting relationships that he struck up with particular musicians and other figures from the music business, ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues, founding editor Howard Mandel

Children’s songs have evolved from mothers’ lullabies to teachers’ nursery rhymes to the singalong numbers of TV and film. Through all of their incarnations, they have retained the same stylistic values: a melodic, upbeat mood; a catchy, easily repeatable chorus; and lyrics that tell a story. Many popular musicians have released child-friendly songs. The 1960s, in particular ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer
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