George Barnes (1921-77) was a pioneer of the electric guitar. In fact, he claimed to be utilizing a pickup and an amplifier on his guitar as early as 1931. In 1938 (on two records with Big Bill Broonzy) he was the first to record on electric guitar, predating Eddie Durham by 15 days and Charlie Christian by more than a year.
A superior swing guitarist, Barnes was a studio musician from the age of 17 and was versatile enough to perform in a countless number of settings through the years. In the jazz world, he is best known for his long-time guitar duos with Carl Kress (1961-65) and Bucky Pizzarelli (1969-72), and for the quartet that he co-led with cornetist Ruby Braff for a few years in the 1970s.
In 1946 for the fun of it, the guitarist formed the George Barnes Octet which performed his arrangements for an ensemble comprised of two clarinets and/or bass clarinetists, a musician on English horn, clarinet and oboe and another one on clarinet, flute and piccolo (the woodwind players were from the Chicago Symphony), plus piano, rhythm guitar, bass and drums-vibes. They were featured on Barnes’ 15-minute radio programs and recorded an extensive series of radio transcriptions (released decades later by Hindsight and Soundies), but it was a short-lived group.
In 1957, Barnes put together a new octet with four woodwinds, pianist Lou Stein, guitar, bass, and drums. They recorded one album, Guitar In Velvet, during their short existence. Recently the Modern Harmonic label released this long out-of-print album as an LP. As with the 1946 sessions, Barnes is virtually the only soloist (Stein gets a half-chorus on “Blue Moon”), his charts are both melodic and unpredictable, and there are plenty of surprises to be heard in his music. Only one arrangement (“September In The Rain”) is revived from his earlier octet with all of the other charts being newly written at the time.
The colorful music, which includes inventive versions of such songs as “Keeping Out Of Mischief Now,” “Love Is Just Around The Corner,” “Pardon My Southern Accent,” and “Did You Ever See A Dream Walking,” is rather unique and features George Barnes in top form. It is very good to have this rare album available again.
https://syncopatedtimes.com/george-barnes-guitar-in-velvet/
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George Barnes (1921-77) fue un pionero de la guitarra eléctrica. De hecho, afirmó que ya utilizaba una pastilla y un amplificador en su guitarra en 1931. En 1938 (en dos discos con Big Bill Broonzy) fue el primero en grabar con guitarra eléctrica, adelantándose 15 días a Eddie Durham y más de un año a Charlie Christian.
Barnes, un guitarrista de swing superior, fue un músico de estudio desde los 17 años y fue lo suficientemente versátil como para actuar en un sinnúmero de escenarios a través de los años. En el mundo del jazz, es más conocido por los dúos de guitarra que formó durante mucho tiempo con Carl Kress (1961-65) y Bucky Pizzarelli (1969-72), y por el cuarteto que codirigió con el cornetista Ruby Braff durante algunos años en la década de 1970.
En 1946, para divertirse, el guitarrista formó el George Barnes Octet, que interpretaba sus arreglos para un conjunto compuesto por dos clarinetes y/o clarinetistas bajos, un músico de corno inglés, clarinete y oboe y otro de clarinete, flauta y piccolo (los músicos de viento-madera eran de la Sinfónica de Chicago), además de piano, guitarra rítmica, bajo y batería. Aparecieron en los programas de radio de 15 minutos de Barnes y grabaron una extensa serie de transcripciones radiofónicas (publicadas décadas después por Hindsight y Soundies), pero fue un grupo de corta duración.
En 1957, Barnes formó un nuevo octeto con cuatro vientos de madera, el pianista Lou Stein, guitarra, bajo y batería. Grabaron un álbum, Guitar In Velvet, durante su corta existencia. Recientemente, el sello Modern Harmonic ha publicado este álbum, agotado desde hace tiempo, en forma de LP. Al igual que en las sesiones de 1946, Barnes es prácticamente el único solista (Stein tiene un medio estribillo en "Blue Moon"), sus gráficos son a la vez melódicos e imprevisibles, y hay muchas sorpresas en su música. Sólo un arreglo ("September In The Rain") se recupera de su anterior octeto, mientras que todos los demás temas son de nueva factura.
El colorido de la música, que incluye versiones inventivas de canciones como "Keeping Out Of Mischief Now", "Love Is Just Around The Corner", "Pardon My Southern Accent" y "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking", es bastante único y presenta a George Barnes en plena forma. Es muy bueno tener este raro álbum disponible de nuevo.
https://syncopatedtimes.com/george-barnes-guitar-in-velvet/
1 - September In The Rain 02:27
2 - Restless 02:30
3 - Keeping Out Of Mischief Now 01:41
4 - A Blues Serenade 02:25
5 - Love Is Just Around The Corner 02:29
6 - Am I Blue 02:34
7 - Blue Moon 02:48
8 - Pardon My Southern Accent 02:04
9 - Just Squeeze Me 02:49
10 - Did You Ever See A Dream Walking 01:54
11 - Someone To Watch Over Me 03:13
12 - If I Could Be With You 02:17
2020
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thank for the original uploader
Muchísimas gracias :)
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