Bach Fugue in G Minor - George Barnes and the Jazz Renaissance Quintet

[ 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: http://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.