Dave Walker Music

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:
Alexandra Leh
(323) 574-1718
georgebarnesguitar@gmail.com

BACH FUGUE IN G MINOR: THE SESSION BY LEGENDARY JAZZ GUITAR GREAT GEORGE BARNES IS RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER 48 YEARS

Rare 1962 recording is a found treasure, reveals musical genius in creative process

OCTOBER 17, 2010 (LOS ANGELES, CA) -- A never-before-released recording of the Bach Fugue in G Minor by the late jazz guitar great George Barnes and his Jazz Renaissance Quintet has been digitally remastered and released on The Art of Sound label.

Barnes, pioneer of the electric guitar and consummate musician, whose distinctive playing was heard on over 40 of his own recordings as well as hundreds of releases with other artists, ranging from Louis Armstrong to Tony Bennett to Sam Cooke to Bob Dylan, arranged and orchestrated the classical piece for a quintet containing the cream of jazz: Barnes on lead guitar, Hank D’Amico on clarinet, Bucky Pizzarelli on second guitar, Jack Lesberg on double bass, and Cliff Leeman on drums.

In the only classical recording he ever made, Barnes’ intricate part is played on one of the two instruments he designed for Guild Guitars, the Guitar in F, specifically created to be played in the upper horn and woodwind registers.

Originally recorded in 1962 at A&R Recording in New York City, the CD includes the final monaural edit, as well as the stereo outtakes and a full in-studio performance.  The original session was produced by Barnes and remixed by Phil Ramone, who began as a classically-trained violinist and became the world-renowned producer of such iconic recording artists as Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.

The inclusion of the musicians’ conversations between “takes” affords the listener a rare opportunity to join the players in the unique creative process that occurs in the rarefied environment of a recording studio.

BACH FUGUE IN G MINOR: THE SESSION was produced by Alexandra Barnes Leh and is the seventh release for The Art of Sound http://www.theartofsoundgallery.com, a music and art label founded by Kate McCallum and No'a Winter Lazerus under McCallum's Bridge Arts Media LLC banner.  Ms. Leh recently joined the label as a partner with Ms. McCallum.

In keeping with The Art of Sound brand, a piece of original art was created by Ms. Leh for the CD’s cover: a collage of segments from Barnes’ handwritten score and a 1961 Polaroid of the JRQ performing the Fugue, photographed by Barnes’ wife, Evelyn. 

Of the six men who participated in this recording -- all close friends, masters of their art, and highly-respected New York studio musicians -- only Pizzarelli (who was partnered with Barnes in a critically-acclaimed guitar duo from 1969-1972) and Ramone survive.  Barnes died in 1977 of a heart attack at the age of 56.  D’Amico (who honed his craft with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, among others) died in 1965.  Lesberg (well-known for his work with Louis Armstrong, but just as much at home under the baton of Leonard Bernstein) died in 2005.  Leeman (invaluable to such diverse bandleaders as Glenn Miller and Raymond Scott, and a key member of The World’s Greatest Jazz Band) died in 1986.

Barnes’ stellar 44-year career regularly reflected his unique tastes in, and innovative approach to, composition and orchestration, including his notable work in the late 1940’s with The George Barnes Octet, comprising musicians Barnes borrowed from the Chicago Symphony.

Under his first contract with Decca Records in 1951, 30-year-old Barnes recorded COUNTRY JAZZ, still heralded as an innovation of musical convergence.  9 years later, Barnes signed with Mercury Records, where he recorded three albums.  In GUITAR GALAXIES and GUITARS GALORE, Barnes wrote arrangements for his 10-guitar “choir”; MOVIN’ EASY was a collection of standards and Barnes originals recorded with the Jazz Renaissance Quintet.  It was during those sessions that Barnes proposed the idea of recording an album of classical jazz with the quintet.  After hearing Barnes’ Bach Fugue demo, Mercury deemed the project too esoteric, and the recording was shelved.  The only remaining material from the one-day session were two acetate discs -- reference lacquers created in 1962 (the mono edit) and 1972 (the outtakes and full unedited performance in stereo).  The discs, intended only for limited use, had been played many times over the years.  Most of the considerable damage to the discs has been digitally removed, while preserving the dynamics of the music and the voices of the participants.

The initial acetate transfer and digital editing were done by Bob Rice at NGP Mastering.  No’a Winter Lazerus performed the Audiocube remix at Chace Recording and the digital remastering at Voice of the Silent Sound.