Soaring is one of Barney Kessel's finest albums of the 1970s. Recorded in August 1976 for Concord, the album featured the guitarist backed by Monty Budwig on bass and Jake Hanna on drums. The entire record is perfect in every way.
What I like most is how Kessel is isolated, allowing us to hear how gifted he was as a player and swinger, and how fascinating his chord voicings were. You can hear the full album at Spotify and most major streaming platforms.
For now, here's You Go to My Head, a chord-fest if ever there was one...
Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...
- Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time, go here.
- John Coltrane: You Say You Care, go here.
- Quincy Jones: Funk Junction, go here.
- Art Farmer's Work of Art, go here.
- Miles Davis: A Gal in Calico, go here.
- Gene Krupa: Mulligan Stew, go here.
- Dave Brubeck: The Duke, go here.
- Horace Silver: The Back Beat, go here.
- Horace Parlan: Up & Down, go here.
- Dexter Gordon: Society Red, go here.