Buddy Green

Although this is billed to Wes Montgomery, it is in fact a combination of two early-'60s LPs by the Montgomery Brothers – The Montgomery Brothers and The Montgomery Brothers in Canada – onto one disc. (Also note that it's almost entirely different from the Montgomery Brothers' Milestone double LP that also bears the name Groove Brothers, which mostly features material from their Riverside LP Groove Yard.) With Wes on guitar, Monk on bass, and Buddy on piano (Larance Marable fills out the quartet on drums), The Montgomery Brothers (1960) is a boppish set of five lengthy tracks, divided between both originals (penned by either Wes or Buddy) and standards. "June in January" is a particularly good vehicle for Wes' fluid single-note runs, while "D-Natural Blues" is one of his more enduring and good-natured compositions from the period. Buddy Montgomery, who often played the piano with the Montgomery Brothers, sticks exclusively to vibes on The Montgomery Brothers in Canada, which in addition to Wes and Monk has Paul Humphrey on drums.

Buddy and his band at the height of their popularity and influence, with seven arrangements that display not only Buddy Rich s virtuosity but his unsurpassed musicianship, as well. Included is a rare example of Buddy on brushes and a brilliant rendition of his signature piece, the medley from West Side Story…

Holding the estimable position of lead guitarist for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Texas blues-rocker Buddy Whittington sports some impressive credentials. Nevertheless, his self-titled solo debut succeeds on its own terms. Whittington's own work owes more to fellow Longhorn fretmaster Stevie Ray Vaughan than to Mayall, and his piercing, tensile guitar licks and earthy, down-to-business vocal style give the album a unified feel while showing that this recording is more than just a busman's holiday.–by Jim Allen