Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, and Shelly Manne – The Poll Winners – Acoustic Sounds Series

Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series
Six key albums from the Contemporary Records catalog reissued on 180-gram vinyl!
Titles featuring Art Pepper, Barney Kessel, Benny Carter, Hampton Hawes and Shelly Manne
Featuring all-analog mastering by Bernie Grundman
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings
Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on jackets
Continuing Craft Recordings’ 70th Anniversary celebration of Contemporary Records!

1957’s The Poll Winners was the first of five all-star trio sessions featuring the dazzling interplay of guitarist Barney Kessel, drummer Shelly Manne and bassist Ray Brown. For The Poll Winners, Kessel, Manne, and Brown did not record together simply because they all happened to have won first place on their respective instruments in the Down Beat, Playboy, and Metronome polls.

Their collaboration was due to mutual respect, and their sensitivity to one another’s musical requirements. Here, in a set composed mainly of pop and jazz standards, they represent the ultimate in their fields, constituting a rhythm section that also provides brilliant solo interludes by all three members. Collectively, Kessel, Manne, and Brown won dozens of polls over the years; this record eloquently tells you why.