Customer Reviews

Complete Standard Transcriptions

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This is a great set of totally obscure stuff by a master pioneer of the electric guitar. Although his playing swings, this isn't really jazz. It is closest to the Raymond Scott Quintet in sound but warmer, lacking the cold, mechanical feel of Scott's work. The more you listen to this the more it grows on you, in part due to the intricacies of the playing. Highly recommended!!

The Uncollected George Barnes LP, which included only about half this selection, haunted my memory for 20 years after I gave it back to the lending library. Wonderful to see all these tracks available at last.

Other reviewers have made reference to Raymond Scott, and broadly speaking, I'd agree. But think also of the swing achieved by Reinhardt in, just for example, the 1940 Paris recordings as Django's Music.

This is happy music: jazz played for the joy of it, not as some sterile academic exercise for the gratification of the improvise-until-unrecognisable brigade of pseudo-intellectuals. As such some will dismiss it as populist rubbish. I call it a true gem.

A 2-CD collection of rare radio transcriptions by one of the forgotten pioneers of jazz guitar instrumentals. A regular on the Chicago scene who started out playing blues and country sessions with the likes of Big Bill Broonzy and Washboard Sam, Barnes led various ensembles over the decades. After WWII he concentrated on instrumental material, and is cited as a primary inspiration by many better-known guitarists such as Charlie Christian and Les Paul. His influence on Chet Atkins can readily be heard on many of these recordings, where a similar chicken-pickin' style can be heard. Some of this material is a bit static, but a lot of it quite whimsical and eccentric. Worth checking out if you're a big guitar fan.

This music isn't quite like anything else. It is obviously influenced by Raymond Scott, but has a sound more like something Gil Evans might write. These are short composed pieces for guitar accompanied by woodwind and a rhythm section. They are very attractive to listen to, but perhaps a whole side at one session is too much. Extremely interesting and well worth trying.