Backgrounder: Barney Kessel - Kessel's Kit, 1969

In the spring and early summer of 1969, guitarist Barney Kessel was on an extensive solo European tour. In each country, he picked up local players for his performances. In two of those countries—France and Italy, he recorded albums. In Rome, two albums were cut for Italian RCA—Reflections in Rome and Kessel's Kit, later known as Guitarra, on RCA's Camden budget line.

Kessel's Kit is particularly interesting. For that album, recorded on May 7, 8 and 9 of 1969, Kessel put together a sextet and recorded most tracks with a light samba feel. Backing him on the sessions were Antonello Vannucchi (org), Kessel and Carlo Pes (g), Giovanni Tommaso (e-b), Ciro Cirro (d,tymp), and Vincenzo “Enzo" Restuccia (perc).

What I love most about the recording is that it has a beautiful, Italian pop-cafe sound, with Kessel riding on top. Copies of the LP are available at eBay and Discogs.com, and the Japanese release on CD is at Amazon.

Here's the full Kessel's Kit without ad interruptions...