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To Swing or Not to Swing

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To Swing or Not to Swing
Studio album by
Released1956
RecordedMarch 28 & July 26, 1955
StudioContemporary Records Studio, Los Angeles, California
GenreJazz
Length40:24
LabelContemporary C3511
ProducerLester Koenig
Barney Kessel chronology
Kessel Plays Standards
(1954-55)
To Swing or Not to Swing
(1956)
Music to Listen to Barney Kessel By
(1956)

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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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

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All compositions by Barney Kessel, except as indicated

  1. "Begin the Blues" - 4:29
  2. "Louisiana" (J. C. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Bob Schafer) - 3:57
  3. "Happy Feeling" - 3:58
  4. "Embraceable You" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 3:24
  5. "Wail Street" - 4:25
  6. "Back Home Again in Indiana" (James F. Hanley, Ballard MacDonald) - 3:13
  7. "Moten Swing" (Bennie Moten, Buster Moten) - 3:58
  8. "Midnight Sun" (Sonny Burke, Lionel Hampton) - 3:10
  9. "Contemporary Blues" - 4:09
  10. "Don't Blame Me" (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) - 2:58
  11. "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

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References

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