New York’s jazz guitar community rallied around one of its own last Wednesday, June 12, in a strong show of support for the ailing jazz guitar great Barney Kessel. A gaggle of the genre’s finest pickers and burners, including George Benson, Les Paul, John Scofield, Larry Coryell, Russell Malone and Jim Hall, turned out for the gala benefit concert, organized by promoter Charles Carlini, held at Birdland, New York’s premier jazz club located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, to pay tribute to Kessel and speak about the profound influence he had on their own musical development. More…