Barry Zweig

Barry Zweig (February 7, 1942—March 15, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist, studio musician, and educator.

In his career, he played for, and/or recorded with many leading musicians of the time including Buddy Rich, Herb Alpert, Willie Bobo, Dave Pell, Bill Holman, Peggy Lee, Doc Severinsen, Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Conniff, Henry Mancini, Andy Williams, Don Ellis, Gene Estes, and Abe Most, among others.

Active from the mid-1960s to the mid-2010s, he was involved in 35 recording sessions.

Barry Zweig was born in Detroit, Michigan, on February 7, 1942, into a musical family. His mother, Diane, would sing harmony parts to the songs on the radio and the record player and taught Barry to clap on 2 and 4 when he was a toddler. His mother bought him a Gretsch ukelele when he was 5, which marked the beginning of his music education. From the age of eight, he began learning the violin.

When he was 15, he fell in love with the sound of jazz guitar when he heard "Mountain Greenery" by Dave Pell Octet on the radio. "Mountain Greenery" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart from the 1926 musical The Garrick Gaieties. Shortly after, he got his first guitar.

He had his first recording session with Capitol Records when he was 17.

In 1964, he was drafted into the Army, where he was assigned to the NORAD Band in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There, he got to study with the famed Alabama guitarist Johnny Smith.

After his discharge, Zweig worked with Buddy Rich. In June 1966, as a member of the Buddy Rich Big Band, he played for Sammy Davis Jr.'s live album The Sounds of '66 (Reprise Records) at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. The Buddy Rich Big Band comprised bassist Gary Walters; pianist John Bunch; trumpeters Bob Faust, Chuck Foster, Tony Scodwell, and John Sottile; trombonists John Boice, Bob Braun, and Jim Trimble; and saxophonists Jay Corre, Marty Flax, Tom Hall, Sam Most, and Steve Perlow.

Also in 1966, he played solo guitar on "More Soul" (composed and written by King Curtis and Oliver Nelson) for Buddy Rich's jazz album Swingin' New Big Band (Pacific Jazz Records). On the saxophone was Jay Corre.

In 1968, Zweig moved to Los Angeles and began working with the jazz band Inner Dialogue with Ernie McDaniel (bass), Gene DiNovi (piano/keyboards), and vocalists Kay Cole and Lynn Dolin Mann. They released two albums on Lawrence Welk and Randy Wood's Ranwood Records—Inner Dialogue (1969) and Friend (1970).

In 1971, Zweig as a member of Willie Bobo & The Bo Gents recorded a jazz/funk/soul album Do What You Want To Do... on Sussex Records. Other musicians on the album were Ernie McDaniel (bass), Jimmie Smith (drums), Reggie Andrews (keyboards), Ron Starr (piano), Steve Huffsteter (trumpet), and Victor Pantoja (congas).

In 1976, he played guitar and banjo on bassist Leroy Vinnegar's jazz album The Kid (PBR International Records) alongside Carl Burnett (drums), Dwight Dickerson (electric piano), Al Williams (percussion, congas), Patrick Boyle (producer), and Richard Masci (engineer).

From 1976 until 1981, he was the guitarist for Dinah Shore on her NBC television show The Dinah Shore Show.

In 1977/78, Zweig recorded his only solo album Desert Vision on Jazz Chronicles featuring trumpeter Bobby Shew, percussionist Tom Collier, bassist Abraham Laboriel, and drummer Peter Donald.

In 1987, Zweig recorded with Bill Holman Band's eponymous album at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California. His guitar work could be heard on three tracks Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely", Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas", and "Primrose Path". The following year, in February 1988, Zweig was in Dave Pell Octet's live recording at Alfonse's Restaurant in Toluca Lake, California. The album Live At Alfonse's is available on Headfirst Records.

In 1992, Zweig, John Pisano, and Larry Carlton played guitar on Herb Alpert's jazz album Midnight Sun (A&M Records). The last track of the album is "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin, John Turner, and Geoffrey Parsons from the soundtrack for Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times.

In the late 1990s, Zweig was with The Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra and recorded three albums on Wayland Records—Calling All Jitterbugs! (1997), Swingin' The Century (1999), and Live At The Hollywood Palladium (2000). With Zweig were Wayne Bergeron, Don Clarke, and Darrel Gardner (trumpet); Charlie Morillas, Bruce Otto, and Andy Martin (trombone); Roger Neumann, Jeff Driskill, Jay Mason, Chuck Erdahl, and Bob Reitmeier (saxophone); Royce Reynolds, Michael Lescault, John O'Campo, and Cassie Miller (vocals); Dave Stone (bass); Gordon Peeke (drums).

In 2002, the Zweig with The Bill Elliot Band backed actor/singer John Lithgow on his children's album Farkle & Friends on Kid Rhino Records.

In 1999, Zweig was in the Gene Estes Quartet with Alan Estes and Paul Gormley and released the album On The Edge on Progressive Records.

In his later career, Zweig worked as an accompanying musician for many famed singers like Keely Smith (Keely Swings Basie-Style With Strings, 2002), Diane Hubka, Sandra Booker, and Jackie Ryan (This Heart of Mine, 2003).

Zweig's last recording was in June 2014 when he played the guitar on singer Sue Raney's jazz album Late In Life at Umbrella Media Studio, Chatsworth, California, with Kevin Axt (bass), Jeff Driskill (clarinet + saxophone + flute), M.B. Gordy (drums), and Shelly Markham (piano).

In the fall of 2019, he did his last live performance at Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, California.

Over the years, Zweig also performed or recorded with Don Ellis, John Pisano, Peggy Lee, Ray Conniff, Rick Poppe, Ron Kalina, Al McKibbon, Emil Richards, Ray Anthony, Abe Most, Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, Frank Capp Juggernaut, and Doc Severinsen.

Zweig had taught at the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California; and the University of Texas at El Paso.

Zweig died due to complications from Crohn's disease on March 15, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. He was 78.

• The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord