Back in 2011, The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened a wonderful exhibition, “Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York,” which celebrated “three New York master luthiers, renowned for their hand-carved stringed instruments—particularly their archtop guitars, which have been sought after by many of the most important guitarists of the last century.” Those extraordinary craftsmen were: John D’Angelico (1905-1964), born in Little Italy; the Brooklyn-born James D’Aquisto (1935-1995); and Manhattan-born John Monteleone.
The exhibition highlighted the historic cultural connections between Italy and New York:
The work of Italian luthiers, or makers of stringed instruments, has been highly desired since the 16th century, when lute makers in cities such as Venice and violin makers in places like Cremona supplied instruments for many of the most important personages in Europe. In subsequent centuries, makers such as the famed Antonio Stradivari continued this tradition. …. By the end of the 18th century, Naples had become the dominant center for stringed-instrument production on the Italian peninsula … Later, in the decades around the turn of the 20th century, many skilled luthiers from southern Italy moved to New York as part of the mass immigration of the time. … These makers set up workshops throughout the region, building traditional-style violins, guitars, and most importantly, mandolins, which experienced a tremendous popularity in America from the 1890s to the 1920s. A change in musical tastes by the late 1920s meant that many Italian-American luthiers were suddenly forced out of business, but the young John D’Angelico was among a small group who were able to transition to building archtop guitars, an instrument that combined elements of violin construction (carved top, f-holes) with the guitar, based on the models being produced at the time by the Gibson Guitar Company. The archtop guitar was especially popular with jazz musicians in the days before the electric guitar. D’Angelico quickly built a reputation for his high-quality, beautifully constructed guitars. The tradition was carried forward by his apprentice James D’Aquisto and continues today with the work of the famed mandolin and guitar maker John Monteleone.
My brother Carl Barry was fortunate enough to have known both D’Angelico and D’Aquisto. He purchased a D’Angelico “New Yorker Special,” custom-made for him by the master himself. In later years, after the guitar was accidentally damaged, it was refinished by D’Angelico’s protégé, James D’Aquisto. (Carl also owned a D’Aquisto acoustic archtop guitar, with two built-in pickups.)
A superb jazz guitarist, Carl was among those artists featured in The Met’s Gallery Concert series as part of the “Guitar Heroes” exhibition. Today, on my brother’s birthday, I’m happy to debut on YouTube a rare video recorded live in concert on June 16, 2011. This is not Oscar-caliber cinematography, folks. Still, I’m happy I was able to cull together a few tunes from the concert for this video presentation, which is introduced by Jayson Kerr Dobney, the Frederick P. Rose Curator in Charge of the Department of Musical Instruments at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Carl performed selections from the Great American Songbook with bassist David Dunaway, including: “Beautiful Love” (King, Young, Alstyne, Gillespie); a medley of “Love Letters” (Young, Heyman) and “All the Things You Are” (Kern, Hammerstein II); and, finally, “My Foolish Heart” (Washington, Young), which just so happens to be the wedding song of my brother Carl and my sister-in-law Joanne Barry, who is a remarkably gifted singer (and whose recordings I’ll be uploading to YouTube in due course).
I’d venture to say that for Carl, life is music—and music is life. More than that, music is love. My brother’s love of music and for playing that music speaks to a depth of spiritual authenticity that I have always found to be awe-inspiring. He’s not just one of my Guitar Heroes. He is a champion of a human being and the greatest brother anyone could ever dream of having. I love you with all my heart, Bro. Happy birthday! And many more happy and healthy returns! Enjoy Carl and David at The Met!
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