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Barry Galbraith

Joseph Barry Galbraithwas an American jazz guitarist.

Galbraith moved to New York City from Vermont in the early 1940s and found work playing with Babe Russin, Art Tatum, Red Norvo, Hal McIntyre, and Teddy Powell. He played with Claude Thornhill in 1941-42 and again in 1946-49 after serving in the Army. He did a tour with Stan Kenton in 1953.

Galbraith did extensive work as a studio musician for NBC and CBS in the 1950s and 1960s; among those he played with were Miles Davis, Michel Legrand, Tal Farlow, Coleman Hawkins, John Lewis, Hal McKusick, Oscar Peterson, Max Roach, George Russell, John Carisi, and Tony Scott. He also accompanied the singers Anita O'Day, Chris Connor, Billie Holiday, Helen Merrill, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington on record. He was a mentor to Ralph Patt.

In 1961 he appeared in the film After Hours. In 1963-64 he played on Gil Evans's album The Individualism of Gil Evans, and in 1965 he appeared on Stan Getz and Eddie Sauter's soundtrack to the 1965 film Mickey One. From 1970 to 1975 he taught at CUNY and published a guitar method book in 1982. From 1976-77 Galbraith taught guitar at New England Conservatory in Boston.

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Video / DVD

Backgrounder: Barry Galbraith - Guitar and the Wind

Backgrounder: Barry Galbraith - Guitar and the Wind

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Barry Galbraith was one of New York's busiest session jazz guitarists in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Between 1941 and the late 1970s, he was on 620 recording dates, a staggering total. How many albums did he record as a leader under his name? Just one—Guitar and the Wind, for Decca. What a shame.

His sole album is groovy and gorgeous. Galbraith could swing and his cord voicings and tasty improvised runs were unbeatable. My last post on Galbraith is ...

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Video / DVD

The Kids Dig Barry Galbraith

The Kids Dig Barry Galbraith

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Barry Galbraith was a superb and tasteful jazz guitarist who played on dozens of albums behind big bands and combos. While he regretfully recorded just one album as a leader (Gone With the Wind, Decca, 1958), he wrote many jazz guitar books on comping, soloing, fingering, daily exercises and more. They are considered a must for jazz guitar studies and to grasp the jazz feel. As soon as my writing workload slows down, I'm going to spring for a guitar ...

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Recording

Barry Galbraith: Guitar and the Wind

Barry Galbraith: Guitar and the Wind

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Over the course of his career, guitarist Barry Galbraith appeared on 594 recording sessions. Yet he made only one album as a featured leader—Guitar and the Wind. The album was recorded over three days in January 1958 for Decca. The fact that Galbraith didn't record more extensively as a featured soloist for Decca and other labels is unfortunate. There are only two possible explanations for Galbraith's lack of spotlight time: Either he was too busy as an East Coast sideman ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Guitar Improv

Double-Time Records
1989

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Guitar Comping

Double-Time Records
1981

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Desafinado

Impulse! Records
1962

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