Barry Galbraith born 18 December 1919

Barry Galbraith (December 18, 1919 – January 13, 1983) was an American jazz guitarist, considered as one of the finest studio musicians in the world.  He was a first call player for jazz recording dates and an exceptional sight reader.  There was nothing that Barry could not play at sight. Over the course of his career he appeared on 594 recording sessions. Yet he made only one album as a featured leader—Guitar and the Wind. 

Joseph Barry Galbraith was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He originally started playing a as a banjoist but then taught himself guitar. By 1941 he was a staff guitarist at radio station WJAS in Pittsburgh. He moved to New York City from Vermont Barry Galbraith was one of the finest studio musicians in the world.  He was a first call player for jazz recording dates.  Barry was an exceptional sight reader.  There was nothing that Barry could not play at sight.

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. 

Barry Galbraith (left) Columbia studios 1947

Galbraith did extensive work as a studio musician for NBC and CBS in the 1950s and 1960s; among some of those those he played with were Benny Goodman, Michel Legrand, Tal Farlow, Coleman Hawkins, Phil Woods, George Barnes (musician), 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, Helen Merrill, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington on record. 

Barry is on recordings by Stravinsky and by Miles Davis. He always gave his best on the most classical of jazz recordings as well as on a host of symphonic records. He recorded with Gunther Schiller and Billie Holiday, with Louis Armstrong and ItzakPerlman. He also did jingles and masterworks and 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. 

         Here’s “Love Is For The Very Young” from above LP.

                             

He regretfully recorded just one album as a leader (Guitar With the Wind/Decca/1958). There are only two possible explanations for Galbraith's lack of spotlight time: Either he was too busy as an East Coast sideman (he was recording virtually every other day at the time) or he was introspective and more comfortable in a group setting. The answer, according to Hal McKusick, who knew Galbraith well, is both. 

What makes Galbraith's lack of output notably disheartening is the exceptional quality of Guitar and the Wind. Galbraith's ability rested not in speed or technique—though he was capable of both. Instead, Galbraith was about extraordinary chord voicing’s and swinging harmony lines. His sound also was strong and large, with enormous confidence. Guitar and the Wind not only demonstrate this side of Galbraith but also feature two superb orchestras behind him on the different recording dates. 

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. He finished playing professionally in 1969 with a stint in the Thad Jones – Mel Lewis Orchestra. From 1970 to 1975 he focused on teaching at CUNY. From 1976–77 Galbraith taught guitar at New England Conservatory in Boston. He published  his Guitar Study Series in 1982. 

Barry was a very heavy smoker and started at a very young age. He smoked at least three packs of cigarettes a day. You’ll find many photographs of  him with a cigarette either in his mouth or one burning in a nearby ashtray. In the latter years of his life he stopped smoking but the predictable outcome was lung cancer, to which he succumbed after fighting for a year and a half following diagnosis. He died 13 January, 1983 in Bennington, Vermont, at the age of 63. (Edited mainly from Wikipedia & Historical Dictionary of Jazz with additional snippets from JaxxWax)