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19.11.13

Barry Finnerty


Barry Finnerty - Space Age Blues - 1998 - Hot Wire Records

Born and raised in San Francisco, Barry Finnerty began piano at 5 and guitar at 13. He got his first electric guitar, a Fender Jaguar, at 14, while living in Hong Kong with his mother, Ruth Finnerty, a pianist who taught English at UC Berkeley Extension, and while in his early teens, he played in the rock band, New Breed, which once opened a show for the famous British pop band, Herman's Hermits. In the late sixties Barry played R&B with his band Beefy Red, opening for Bo Diddley and Lightnin' Hopkins at the famous Fillmore venue in San Francisco. Many of the artists who appeared at the Fillmore influeced his playing style, both on guitar and keyboards. Barry is mainly known as a jazz fusion artist. The fusion/studio era produced many great musicians. Some have had successful solo careers, while others have played on many different projects as sidemen, making valuable contributions to many other artists' works. Barry Finnerty is this type of roving player. He has played smooth, straight, and fusion jazz with Tower of Power,The Crusaders, the Brecker Brothers, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Chico Hamilton and Joe Farrell. Here's a good quote from Barry, which says a lot about his music, - "If I had to describe my style, I would say it's a cross between Jeff Beck and George Benson, but it's not something I'm consciously aware of," says Finnerty. "I never try to impress when I take a solo; I just play a note and try to continue to the next note coherently and continue my musical thought. The greatest compliment I ever received was when I was playing in Boston with Airto and Flora Purim in 1974. Charles Mingus was playing next door and he must have come in and heard our last set. As I was leaving, I noticed him in the back, so I said, 'Good night, Mr. Mingus,' and he looked up and said, 'You play ideas on guitar….A lot of people play lines on guitar, but you play ideas.'" “Space Age Blues” is a compilation of a number of Barry Finnerty tracks, taken from the "New York City"(1982), "Lights on Broadway" (1984), and the "Bargain Hunters"(1996) album. There are also two tracks from Billy Cobham's 1981 "Flight Time" album, and 2 rare tracks from 1989 and 1995. It’s a great album, and the title describes the music very well, full of many different styles, and great grooves. In fact, his keyboard work is reminiscent at times of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, while his guitar work has elements of Pat Metheny and Jerry Garcia. Listen to his "Straight Ahead" album, and if you can find his "2 Be Named Later" debut album, buy it. It's a good example of early jazz/blues fusion [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 172 Mb]

TRACKS / MUSICIANS / RECORDING DETAILS

Barry Finnerty - guitar, keyboards, vocal, drum programming

1 You Got It
Joe Berger : guitar (1st guitar solo)
Vinnie Colaiuta : drums
Anthony Jackson : bass
Mark Gray : keyboards
Michael Brecker : tenor saxophone
recorded at Planet Sound, New York City, 1984

2 Funk In A
Vinnie Colaiuta : drums
Anthony Jackson : bass
Mark Gray : keyboards
recorded at Planet Sound, New York City, 1984

3 Dawn Of A New Day
Buddy Williams : drums
Tim Landers : bass
recorded at Planet Sound, New York City, 1982

4 Hunting For Bargains
Jost Nickel : drums
Arnd Geise : bass
Jon Hammond : organ o.t.s.n.
recorded at Hazelwood Studios, Frankfurt, 1996

5 Space Age Blues
Vinnie Colaiuta : drums
Will Lee : bass
Jon Hammond : B3 organ
Mark Gray : piano
recorded at Planet Sound, New York City, 1984

6 Stonescape
Vinnie Colaiuta : drums
Neil Stubenhaus : bass
Carol Steele : percussion
track 6 recorded at "?", Los Angeles, 1982

7 Just My Luck
Richie Morales : drums
Tim Landers : bass
Mark Gray : piano
Carlos Steele : percussion
Randy Brecker : trumpet
horns : Lew Soloff, Mac Gollehan (trumpet)
Bob Mintzer, Denny Morouse (saxophone)
background vocal : Sally Fox, Margaret Dorn
recorded at Planet Sound, New York City, 1982

8 Jackhammer
Billy Cobham : drums
Tim Landers : bass
Don Grolnick : keyboards
recorded live in Koln and Stuttgart, Germany, 1980

9 Steppin' With The Load - Composed by Harry Whitaker
Victor Jones : drums
Gene Williams : keyboards, keyboard bass
recorded at Earthbound Studios, New York, 1995

10 White Onions - Composed by Barry Finnerty, Jon Hammond
Bernard Purdie : drums
Chuggy Carter : percussion
Alex Foster : tenor saxophone
Jon Hammond : B3 organ/Leslie
recorded at Quad Studios, New York, 1989

11 Just The Other Day
Vinnie Colaiuta : drums
Anthony Jackson : bass
Mark Gray : keyboards
recorded at Planet Sound, New York City, 1984

12 Love Far Away
Buddy Williams : drums
Tim Landers : bass
Carlos Steele : percussion
recorded at Planet Sound, New York City, 1982

13 Princess - Composed by Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham : drums
Tim Landers : bass
Don Grolnick : keyboards
recorded live in Koln and Stuttgart, Germany, 1980

All tracks composed by Barry Finnerty, except where stated

SHORT BIO

Guitar, keyboards, bass, composer. A prolific session player during the '70s, Barry Finnerty came to New York from the West Coast in 1973. He'd studied classical piano as a child, taken guitar lessons as a teen and briefly attended Berklee in 1971. Finnerty joined Chico Hamilton in 1974, and later that year worked with Airto and Flora Purim. He joined the Joe Farrell quartet in 1975, and later did sessions and recorded with Hamilton, Hubert Laws, The Tower of Power and the group Beefy Red. Finnerty appeared at the Montreux and Monterey Festivals in the mid-'70s playing with Hamilton and Airto respectively. © Ron Wynn, allmusic.com

BIO (WIKI)

Michael Barry Finnerty (born December 3, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician. Finnerty was born in San Francisco and raised on the West Coast, studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of California Berkeley. He moved to New York City after attending Berklee College of Music for a short time in 1971. In 1974 he began playing with Chico Hamilton, Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim. In 1975 he became a member of the Joe Farrell quartet, and later in the decade played with Hubert Laws, Tower of Power, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Ray Barretto, and Beefy Red. He played with Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker (1977-81) and The Crusaders (1979-84), in addition to touring in Europe with Billy Cobham in 1980. He played with Miles Davis in 1981.

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