To Swing or Not to Swing

Last updated
To Swing or Not to Swing
To Swing or Not to Swing.jpg
Studio album by
Barney Kessel
Released1956
RecordedMarch 28 & July 26, 1955
StudioContemporary Records Studio, Los Angeles, California
Genre Jazz
Length40:24
Label Contemporary C3511
Producer Lester Koenig
Barney Kessel chronology
Kessel Plays Standards
(1954-55)		To Swing or Not to Swing
(1956)		 Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By
(1956)

To Swing or Not to Swing (subtitled Barney Kessel Volume 3) is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel released on the Contemporary label which was recorded at sessions in 1955. [1]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]
Disc Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "the overall result is a recording highly recommended to fans of straight-ahead jazz". [2]

Track listing

All compositions by Barney Kessel, except as indicated

  1. "Begin the Blues" - 4:29
  2. "Louisiana" (J. C. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Bob Schafer) - 3:57
  3. "Happy Feeling" - 3:58
  4. "Embraceable You" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 3:24
  5. "Wail Street" - 4:25
  6. "Back Home Again in Indiana" (James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald) - 3:13
  7. "Moten Swing" (Bennie Moten, Buster Moten) - 3:58
  8. "Midnight Sun" (Sonny Burke, Lionel Hampton) - 3:10
  9. "Contemporary Blues" - 4:09
  10. "Don't Blame Me" (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) - 2:58
  11. "Twelfth Street Rag" (Euday L. Bowman) - 2:55

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barney Kessel</span> American jazz guitarist (1923–2004)

Barney Kessel was an American jazz guitarist. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as well as a "first call" guitarist for studio, film, and television recording sessions. Kessel was a member of the group of session musicians informally known as the Wrecking Crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herb Ellis</span> American jazz guitarist (1921–2010)

Mitchell Herbert Ellis was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson.

<i>Get Happy!</i> (Ella Fitzgerald album) 1959 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald

Get Happy! is a 1959 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, recorded with various studio orchestras over a two-year period.

<i>Charlie Parker on Dial</i>

Charlie Parker on Dial: The Complete Sessions is a 1993 four-disc box set collecting jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie Parker's 1940s recordings for Dial Records. The box set, released by the English label Spotlite Records, assembled into a single package the multi-volume compilation albums the label had released by Spotlite on vinyl in the 1970s under the series title Charlie Parker on Dial. The box set has been critically well received. In 1996, a different box set collecting Parker's work with Dial was assembled by Jazz Classics and released as Complete Charlie Parker on Dial.

<i>Virtuoso No. 4</i> 1983 studio album by Joe Pass

Virtuoso No. 4 is an album by jazz guitarist Joe Pass that was recorded in 1973 and released in 1983.

<i>Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders</i> 1959 studio album by Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders is a 1959 album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Contemporary label, featuring performances by Rollins with Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne with Victor Feldman added on one track. It was the last studio record Rollins made in the 1950s. Following the recording of "Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders", Rollins toured Europe in the spring of 1959, then took a hiatus from recording and performing in public that ended in 1962 with his LP The Bridge.

<i>Four!</i> 1958 studio album by Hampton Hawes

Four! is a 1958 album by Hampton Hawes, originally released on the Contemporary label and reissued in 1991 by Original Jazz Classics.

<i>Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By</i> 1957 studio album by Barney Kessel

Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel recorded at sessions in 1956 and released on the Contemporary label.

<i>Lets Cook!</i> 1962 studio album by Barney Kessel

Let's Cook! is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel recorded at sessions in 1957 but not released on the Contemporary label until 1962.

<i>Kessel Plays Standards</i> 1956 studio album by Barney Kessel

Kessel Plays Standards is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel released on the Contemporary label and featuring eight tracks originally released on the Barney Kessel Volume 2 10-inch album which were recorded at sessions in 1954 along with an additional four tracks from 1955.

<i>Easy Like</i> 1956 studio album by Barney Kessel

Easy Like is an album by jazz guitarist Barney Kessel that was released by Contemporary Records in 1956. Eight songs were released on the 10-inch album Barney Kessel which were recorded in 1953, while other songs were recorded in 1956.

<i>Some Like It Hot</i> (Barney Kessel album) 1959 studio album by Barney Kessel

Some Like It Hot is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel performing adaptations music from Billy Wilder's 1959 film Some Like It Hot, recorded in 1959 and released on the Contemporary label.

<i>Barney Kessels Swingin Party</i> 1963 studio album by Barney Kessel

Barney Kessel's Swingin' Party is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel recorded in 1960 but not released on the Contemporary label until 1963.

<i>Workin Out! with the Barney Kessel Quartet</i> 1961 studio album by Barney Kessell Quartet

Workin' Out! with the Barney Kessel Quartet is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel recorded in 1961 and released on the Contemporary label.

<i>Feeling Free</i> (Barney Kessell album) 1969 studio album by Barney Kessel

Feeling Free is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel recorded in 1969 and released on the Contemporary label. The album marked a brief return to the label before Kessel embarked on an extended stay in Europe.

<i>Man of Many Parts</i> 1957 studio album by Buddy Collette

Man of Many Parts is an album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Buddy Collette recorded at sessions in 1956 and released on the Contemporary label.

<i>Nice Day with Buddy Collette</i> 1957 studio album by Buddy Collette

Nice Day with Buddy Collette is the second album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Buddy Collette, recorded at sessions in late 1956 and early 1957 and released on the Contemporary label.

<i>Jazz Giant</i> (Benny Carter album) 1958 studio album by Benny Carter

Jazz Giant is an album by saxophonist Benny Carter that was recorded in 1957 and 1958 and released by Contemporary Records.

<i>Way Up There</i> 1957 studio album by Shorty Rogers and His Giants

Way Up There is an album by American jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger Shorty Rogers, released on the Atlantic label in 1957.

<i>Dales Wail</i> 1954 studio album by Roy Eldridge

Dale's Wail is an album by American jazz trumpeter Roy Eldridge recorded in 1953 and originally released on the Clef label.

References

  1. ↑ Contemporary Records discography accessed May 25, 2015
  2. 1 2 Yanow, Scott. To Swing or Not to Swing – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ Hall, Tony (29 March 1958). "Its appeal is broad". Disc . No. 8. p. 18.
  4. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 820. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.