The freedom that Barney Kessel felt when he made this recording in 1969 was inspired from within and from outside. Kessel had looked deep inside himself and decided that the life of a studio musician was no longer for him. Feeling Free marked his exit from Hollywood security back into the risks and satisfactions of the jazz life. It was a good time for a veteran like Kessel to absorb some of the changes blowing through jazz in the wakes of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. Who better to stimulate him in his search than Coltrane's drummer, the explosive and infinitely flexible Elvin Jones? With Jones, the adventurous young vibraharpist Bobby Hutcherson, and the forceful bassist Chuck Domanico, Kessel managed to loosen and expand his playing without sacrificing anything of his admired discipline and musicianship.

with Bobby Hutcherson, Chuck Domanico, Elvin Jones