“I bought this album in about ’59 - ’60 and it was the first time I heard a guitar - a modern guitar with modern harmonies. Before that I was listening to big bands and playing in big bands and Django Rheinhardt which was the older thong but Barney Kessel was the first really to come up with the first modern harmonies.

It was like an eye-opener - although I played guitar I didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Wow - what’s he doing?I wanted to know.

It took me a couple of years and I finally found a teacher in England that started to teach me harmony and stuff like that.

But it wasn’t really till I got here to the States that I started taking lessons with Ron Anthony and Barry (Zweig) and a few other people that I started to really know what was happening and started to emulate that kind of thing.

It’s Julie London - it’s magnificent - it’s just her, a guitar and a bass. The album is Julie Is Her Name.

I found out later that Julie was quite a fixture here, she used to have jazz parties at her house here in North Hollywood.

It was a centre for all the top studio musicians to play.

She has a great voice - it’s not the usual jazz voice, she has a very soft voice.

Barney Kessel did all the arrangements on it - they were magnificent too - it swung - just guitar and bass!”

Ted Mayer: At home, Laurel Canyon, CA, 7th October 2016

Julie London: Julie Is Her Name released 1955

Ted Mayer

ONE LP PORTRAITS: MUSICIANS: S - Z: TED MAYER