Born in 1923, Barney Kessel played and recorded for over 40 years with hundreds of jazz greats, including Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Rich, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lester Young. This is the first book to document his unique life in music, from jamming with the big band of Benny Goodman to playing on many of Phil Spector's famed Wall of Sound records and producing a hit for Ricky Nelson. The comprehensive discography of hundreds of his jazz recordings will prove to be a valuable source of information for jazz historians for many years to come.