Bach Fugue in G Minor - George Barnes and the Jazz Renaissance Quintet
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 เม.ย. 2013
- [ This track is the final mono edit and mix by George Barnes and Phil Ramone. You may purchase the CD containing the entire recording session here: www.theartofsoundgallery.com/s... ]
Jazz guitar great George Barnes often cleansed his musical palate with Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Respighi, Ravel, Moussorsky, Tchaikovsky, Wagner - and Bach. It was the Bach Fugue in G Minor, played by organist Virgil Fox under the baton of Eugene Ormandy that inspired him to explore its joy (a hallmark of George's playing) and complexity (a reflection of his musical genius) in the context of his Jazz Renaissance Quintet.
The six men who participated in this recording - all close friends, masters of their art, and highly-respected in the New York studio scene - were guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli (a longtime friend and studio colleague of GB, Bucky's classical training made him a natural for this piece), clarinetist Hank D'Amico (who honed his craft with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, among others), bassist Jack Lesberg (well-known for his work with Louis Armstrong, but just as much at home under the baton of Leonard Bernstein), and drummer Cliff Leeman (invaluable to such diverse bandleaders as Glenn Miller and Raymond Scott, and a key member of The World's Greatest Jazz Band). The original session, which took place on 25 February 1962 at A&R Recording in New York City, was recorded and remixed by engineer 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.
In 1957, George -- an influential master of all musical genres -- recorded COUNTRY JAZZ, still heralded as an innovation of musical convergence. 9 years later, Barnes signed with Mercury Records, where he recorded three albums. One of the three, 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 loved the music, but 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 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. - เพลง
Jazz musicians were always fascinated by the music of JS Bach.
Excellent !... Wonderfull ! ...Phenomenal ! Und das ist nicht genug gesagt, Vielen Dank für das Posten liebe Alexandra Barnes Leh / And that's not saying enough. Thank You for posting Dear Alexandra Barnes Leh
Danke schoen, Andreas!
George Barnes was one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time. Simply put, it's impossible to find anyone better, one can only find different.
That's a pretty serious statement coming from James Chirillo!
I fully agree. George was a master player. I love featuring him on my radio show.😀
K
This would have been the “rock and roll” of the baroque era... lovely!
Centuries are passing, but the music of Bach inspires new generations of musicians playing various genres of music. He is simply a steady point of reference and a kind of a conservative visionary who said quite clearly several times "I do not care which instrument you play, only play it well".
comme quoi Bach est de toutes les époques. Il n'est pas certain qu'il ait rejeté une telle version tellement elle se prête bien à la partition originale. bravo!
Thank you George. Your genius shines brighter than ever.
I just now saw this beautiful sentiment...thank you, Brad!
_Whoa!_
_His tone!_
Sounds like a mix between harpsichord and clarinet and oboe.
Too cool!
+JamesScottGuitar Yes, indeed...his sound was developed when he was very young (around 10!), out of his desire to be a soloist -- like a horn -- rather than a rhythm player. You have a great ear!
For those fine Friends of Barnes who didn't know GB had longtime plans to release an entire classical jazz album, here's a video of his only classical recording: The Bach Fugue in G Minor with GB's Jazz Renaissance Quintet. Created with scans of the original score and photos of GB with guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, engineer Phil Ramone, clarinetist Hank D'Amico, bassist Jack Lesberg and drummer Cliff Leeman, this is the final mono edit and mix. The entire session is available on The Art of Sound label, and allows you the rare opportunity to take a seat in the studio among six legendary masters.
Wow!
I've always loved this fugue in its original organ form but this arrangement is such a wonderful, joyous discovery. Thanks for sharing.
+Brian Solomons My pleasure, Brian...
George told me about this project when I studied with him. I'm delighted to finally hear it.
It really is a testament to the skill of J.S. Bach's Composition and GB's arrangement/orchestration skills that this sounds so good. Of course, I hold back no applause from the performers either!
Oh. I found myself in a once again in a fit of obsession over a piece of music, trawling the ether for every possible version of it (the composer tends to be Bach, because his works transcend orchestration and lend themselves more readily to variation in the first place, and in fact, the piece tends to be this one, a long-time favorite) - and stumbled in here. I am not a jazz connoisseur, but this sounds great to me. If I had to describe it in one word, I guess that word would be: Nifty!
Leo W It's taken me too long to thank you for your "nifty" comment, Leo!
No thanks needed at all! (It struck me that the word 'nifty' might have sounded somehow belittling; it was of course meant as a compliment on a seemingly effortless performance by an exceptional group of musicians). Did they record any other arrangements of baroque or other classical pieces that you know of? This one does leave me wanting more: I listen to it from time to time and replay it to people I think will enjoy it---and they invariably do :)
Oh, I just (re)read your comment below, that this was the only classical piece they recorded. Pity that plans of more did not materialize, that would have been a killer album :)
Leo, there was *so* much more my father was planning to do...we really got cheated when he left at 56...but I know how grateful he'd be for the incredible recognition his work is receiving today from people like you. As he'd say with tongue in cheek, "You're obviously a man of impeccable taste!"
The Bach piece sounds so natural with the guitars
Wonderful!! Thank you very much Mr Barnes.
Thank you, Bruno, for your appreciation of my father's work!
HOLY SHIT THIS IS A JAMMER
A treasure that could not be swung more. Thank you.
MAGNIFICENT !!!! Full Stop.
Merveilleux du début à la fin. Into the air for ever
This is fun. It reminds me of some of the things some friends of mine and I would do from time to time. We had guitar, bass, piano and marimba and would do Vivaldi, Bach, and whoever else we could come up with. It is fun doing that kind of music with "odd" instruments. You can get some really nice ensemble sounds that way. Baroque music seems to work the best for this, it's the notes more than the tones, but adding tones you don't usually hear in this style of music is fun and keeps the ear engaged.
Really nice arrangement here, definitely some thought behind it. What a shame people don't think there is merit in this anymore.
have you heard Bach in Brazil? great little album
@@Zack-xz1ph I have not. But I'll check it out. I always liked the MJQ Bach album, as well as all the CTI stuff that Bob James and Don Sebesky did back in the 70's and early 80's. Lots of Hubert Laws things, from Bach to Stravinsky to Satie. Some very inventive ideas going on back then. I miss those days.
The fun thing about fugues is, it's pure counterpoint, and in counterpoint there are a bunch of individual melodies that have to sound great on their own, but they also have to work together. That's why even odd instrument combinations would work great together
Wow! Thanks for sharing this gem. I studied both baroque/classical guitar and jazz, but this is how you put it all together! nice.
+tinian33 I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Jazz and Baroque, gotta love it!
Phenomenal.....Thank you for posting this rare treat !!
my pleasure, FF :)
Love. So excellent
I listen several times. I like this version of Bach´s Gminor fugue. Thanks for sharing!
Frank David Thank you so much, Frank David!
Love it! Got to be one of the best renditions of this fugue I have seen thus far!
+Ser Stormcrow It's certainly my favorite...but then, I'm GB's daughter!
Great! I never knew that George Barnes ever played classical music. Thank you, Alexandra, for sharing.
This is before classical music. Baroque was the jazz to Classical era’s R&B or rock n roll. In fact when I first thought about that it occurred to me that baroque was just as improvisatory as jazz is. The insanity of their similarities shocks me still.
Holly Flip! Thank you!
Excellent. A joy to listen to.
Interesting !
Hi Alex. Hope you are keeping well.x
I loved this Fugue.
This is just superb. I will never tire of this. Thanks for making it available.
J'adoooore !! Superbe !!!
Un vrai Bach bien en rythme .....
wow! blues, jazz, country(?), and Baroque? what can George Barnes NOT play? :)
thank you so much, johnzaq1! my father would be happy to know this has inspired you...
superb, love everything GB did. Maestro
Ian Date I meant to thank you for this lovely comment months ago...and now, I do!
Beautiful! Thank you!
Thank you for uploading this!!!
Wonderful !!!
Wonderful
Dope!!!
Fantastic!
Amazing!
i couldn't agree more, antonio!
Mmm, counterpoint rules!
Wow! It`s amazing!
Wonderful.
This is stupendous.
thanks Alexandra what an incredible find!
Read on another post that George was the first to play an electric guitar on record back in 1938.
thank you so much for your appreciation, bob!
BTW this is the BWV 542 g minor fugue
Wow! Thank you!
You're most welcome, Patrick!
Ferget it...a masterpiece. Really shitty that the record company didn't think this music worthy of releasing. A great loss for everyone.
Unmatched in courting both of the genres, world class arrangement and execution. is there an album of George's jazz baroque music? how do i listen to more of this!? thank you.
+Matija Krunic He had plans to record more classical music, but never got around to it...'though he, of course, continued to make jazz recordings. Our loss.
Bach will be always Bach, whatever are the instruments used or the arrangement that is played
Same Mr. GB will be alawys Mr. GB :-)
WOW
right? ;)
The way electric guitar should be played. Inspired
Wooowww
TheApostleofRock Thank you, Apostle :)
this is BWV 542 btw
I don't think it's transposed.
@@NotMozart1685 yup you're right, don't know why I thought they were playing in D
I think this is BMW but after tuning . ;)
by Mr. GB tunning
Does anyone know where the score for this version can be found?
Jordan, I am George Barnes' daughter, and the producer of The George Barnes Legacy Collection. Please email me at George BarnesLegacy dot com, and I will respond to your request. Thank you!
Alexandra Barnes Leh I would love to do this arrangement for a school project. I emailed you as well.
Working on my own arrangement of this to be published by Hal Leonard
Did they really make a lot of changes to the score? It sounds really like the original fugue, just with drums and playing with swing
Where can we get the scores?
Hi, Andrew...we'll be making the score for this recording available to teachers and schools via The George Barnes Legacy Collection in a few months. Thanks for asking!
Can I get a copy please?
IMSLP has the original (organ) along with arrangements for various combos.
Also there is an arrangement for 4 guitars at MuseScore.com which you could easily tweak/transpose for whoever shows up to play it. You could even make a part for guitar in F sounding a 4th higher than written, if you're nutty enough. However I did notice wrong notes near the beginning (there may be more) so it may need a little editing.
Rainer and Dwayne...I have my father's original chart for this piece, and will be making it available via The George Barnes Legacy Collection before the end of the year.
When recorded this music?
+Tural Huseyn February 25, 1962, at A&R Recording Studios in New York City. The engineer was Phil Ramone.
+Alexandra Leh thank u!
John Kirby's group did a lovely version of this in 1939, retitled of course - & can't remember at this moment, but here's another cut from that album:
th-cam.com/video/i_aSNyG2nHE/w-d-xo.html