To Swing or Not to Swing

To Swing or Not to Swing
To Swing or Not to Swing
Studio album by Barney Kessel
Released	1956
Recorded	March 28 & July 26, 1955
Studio	Contemporary Records Studio, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:24
Label	Contemporary C3511
Producer	Lester Koenig
Barney Kessel chronology

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]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]
Disc	^[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[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

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

Recorded at Contemporary's studio in Los Angeles on March 28, 1955 (tracks 3, 5 & 9) and July 26, 1955 (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10 & 11).

Personnel

Barney Kessel - guitar
Harry Edison - trumpet (tracks 2, 3 & 6-10)
Georgie Auld (tracks 2, 6, 7 & 12), Bill Perkins (tracks 3, 5 & 9) - tenor saxophone
Jimmy Rowles - piano
Al Hendrickson - guitar
Red Mitchell - bass
Irv Cottler (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10 & 11), Shelly Manne (tracks 3, 5 & 9) - drums

References

^ Contemporary Records discography accessed May 25, 2015
^ ^a ^b Yanow, Scott. To Swing or Not to Swing – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
^ Hall, Tony (March 29, 1958). "Its appeal is broad". Disc. No. 8. p. 18.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 820. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[Contemporary_Records_discography-1] Contemporary Records discography accessed May 25, 2015

[AllMusic-2] Yanow, Scott. To Swing or Not to Swing – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved May 25, 2015.

[3] Hall, Tony (March 29, 1958). "Its appeal is broad". Disc. No. 8. p. 18.

[Penguin-4] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 820. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

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[4]

v t e Barney Kessel
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With Billie Holiday	Billie Holiday Sings Billie Holiday Billie Holiday Billie Holiday at JATP Music for Torching Velvet Mood Lady Sings the Blues Body and Soul Songs for Distingué Lovers All or Nothing at All
Signature guitar	Gibson Barney Kessel

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