On Fire [Import]

Barney Kessel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: 3d
• ASIN: B00006ITS5
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,485,803 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Slow Burn

2. Just In Time

3. Shadow Of Your Smile

4. Recado Bossa Nova

5. Sweet Baby

6. Who Can I Turn To

7. One Mint Julep

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guitar on fire, but not the Hendrix way!, April 20, 2007

By 

Jazzcat "stef" (Genoa, Italy Italy) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On Fire (Audio CD)

"I waited a lot for this record to be reissued, ..." Finally here I am. I have the cd in my hands. I asked in the past weeks if someone who had the album could reviewed it to let me know in advance what I would find in it because I couldn't wait. Noone did it, no problem, now I have it and I'll do the review job. I ordered "On fire" because I knew from the cover that it had to be one of the greatest albums from Barney because it is a sixties recording. And Barney in those days was really "on fire", on the top of his game. It is a trio live recording, Barney with Frankie Capp and Jerry Scheff (drums and double bass respectively) so you'll find Barney with a lot of space to play and to express his musical ideas. The sound is phenomenal so don't be worry about the fidelity of the recording, you'll enjoy it very much. The nice fact is that this is the first time Barney has been recorded "live" in concert and not in the studio, so without the common restrictions dued to the studio limits. What you can hear is a wonderful musician really stretching out and letting his chops come out freely on some standards chord progressions. The first tune is a blues a typical Barney blues, and if you know the man's style you know what I mean, that sort of lines interspaced with block chords and stuff. Fantastic, pure vintage Barney! The second tune is Just in time, a standard of the era here taken up up tempo! The third tune is the lovely "Shadow of your smile" from Johnny Mandel's pen. Barney more or less played only the theme at very slow tempo and with great lyricism. Hey, I know you know it, but we're talking about Barney Kessel, one of the greatest that ever picked up the instrument, so execellence is obvious! The fourth tune is a bossa nova, "Recado Bossa Nova" a nice twist over the swing feel that is throughout the album. At this point in my first listening session I'm judging this as one of the best Barney's album for sure because you can hear him "naked", captured live without the net. Moreover he is in top form and as the only soloist here, something that was not so common in his albums. After these 5 bossa nova's minutes we have "Sweet baby" which is an original by Barney himself, a sort of mid tempo ballad where he played the tender theme alternating block chords (a lot of them) with single line phrases. A very nice tune I didn't know, prior to this recording. "Who can I turn to" is a pure ballad, a standard song played here very quietly, with brushes. I am a Jazz guitar player myself and I can say that playing a nice slow melody in such silence in front of a public in a small club, is not easy but extremely rewarding. Barney of course is a master. Only two minute, but what an atmosphere. And in the end another blues of course, just to close the set with the fireworks leaving the people something they can easily relate to e remember quite clearly. Well in the end, what can I say? It's a great album, it costs some money but it is great stuff. It's an extraordinary album that I suggest to every Kessel's lover and to every cat in love with this our instrument, the Jazz guitar. Many thanks to the Japanese who print these gems otherwise unavailable. We need them to remember us how great these hystorical american recordings are. They care much than we do ... The world is a little crazy isn't it? Uh, few words about the title of my review. Barney's guitar is sure on fire here, ... but not in the Hendrix way! You know what I mean!!! ;))))

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a cornerstone but a great record to have., April 5, 2011

By 

Here in the Trench (Barcelona. Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Fire (Audio CD)

an original 50's copy of this record reached it's way to my hands by mistake.
I heard it and definitely kept it.
I was expecting to buy this record one day or another.
I guess it was "written" that the record was for me.
Copy was impressive.
Clean, monoaural sound.
Kessel in a very fine hour.
By the way, cover art is Fan-tas-tic!