Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Barry Sweig was born on February 7, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan. His mother loved music and taught her son to clap on the 2 & 4 as a toddler. He received a ukulele for his fifth birthday, played violin from the age of eight until he was eighteen, but bought himself a guitar for ten dollars when he was 15. His first recording session was at age 17, at Capitol Records.

Drafted in the Army in 1964 Sweig was assigned to NORAD Band where he got the opportunity to study with guitarist Johnny Smith. After his discharge he joined Buddy Rich’s band and after recording an album with Sammy Davis Jr. that led to him joining the latter’s band. Touring with Davis ended fourteen months later and he settled in Los Angeles, California and broke into the music scene where he performed and recorded for a host of who’s who vocalists and musicians.

He played his final gig at The Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach. Guitarist Barry Sweig, who taught at UCLA, USC, and the University of Texas, El Paso, transitioned on March 15, 2020 of complications from Crohn’s disease.

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