Riverside

Wes Montgomery - The Complete Riverside Recordings (1992) {12CD Box Set, Riverside Japan VICJ-40060~71 rec 1959-1963}
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© 1959-63, 1992 Riverside / Victor Japan | VICJ-40060~71
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Guitar

Wes Montgomery recorded exclusively for the Riverside label during the four years covered by this massive 12-CD box set and, although his later albums for Verve and particularly the pop/jazz A&M dates sold many more copies, it is from his Riverside dates that his legacy was primarily formed. Virtually unknown at the time of his debut on Riverside, Montgomery soon became a major influence whose style is still copied decades later.

Milt Jackson and Wes Montgomery - Bags meets Wes! (1961) {2008 Riverside} [Keepnews Collection Complete Series] (Item #17of27)
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© 1961, 2008 Concord / Riverside | 0888072305021
Jazz / Hard Bop / Guitar / Vibes

Orrin Keepnews' commentary (from his new liner notes): "The most significant feature of the album is the uncanny rapport between the two leaders. It is difficult to believe but probably true that, although they had undoubtedly frequently heard each other's work, they had never played together. But of course they had many attitudes and attributes in common. If the blues is indeed a language, it is one in which both of these men were extremely fluent. Equally important to both was the melodic content of their music. Some otherwise admirable players do not seem to have fully grasped the important fact that to perform a ballad properly involves much more than just keeping the tempo slow. Both Bags and Wes were firmly aware of this distinction. There is an extraordinary richness and fullness to their performances here, and there is also a feeling that each man is somehow drawing something tangible from the other's performance.”

Riverside are one of the most universally acclaimed bands on this site, with all four of their album releases to date comfortably achieving in excess of 4 stars. It is perhaps surprising then that this is the band's first DVD release, and thus the first chance most of us have had to witness them live…

The Cannonball Adderley Sextet - In New York (1962) {2008 Riverside} [Keepnews Collection Complete Series] (Item #18of27)
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© 1962, 2008 Concord / Riverside | 0888072305038
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

Orrin Keepnews' commentary (from his new liner notes): “Just a few weeks after Yusef [Lateef] was added, a booking at the Village Vanguard was used to bring about the recording that is reissued here. Considering how long the four original band members had been working together, it is quite amazing how quickly and how well the two newcomers fit in. The only real difference to be noted between this and previous Adderley band albums might be the absence of any newly written material by either of the Adderley brothers. But two of the half-dozen selections are by Lateef and one by Zawinul. The final number, one of Sam Jones’s rare writer credits, was for quite awhile the band’s standard way of closing each set in a club, but the decision here was to give it a rare full-length performance.”

Don Friedman Trio - Flashback (1963) {Riverside OJCCD-1903-2 rel 1997}
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© 1963, 1997 Riverside / Fantasy | OJCCD-1903-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bebop / Piano Trio

Pianist Don Friedman's debt to Bill Evans was obvious in the early '60s, particularly on standards, but he also had his own creative spirit to offer. This 1997 CD reissue brings out Friedman's third of four Riverside dates, teaming him with the obscure bassist Dick Kniss and drummer Dick Berk. The pianist shows that he was developing an original voice and was familiar with the avant-garde of the period on such originals as "Ohcre" and "Flashback." In contrast, he swings conventionally but with subtle creativity on "Alone Together," "News Blues" and "How Deep Is the Ocean." A fine, well-rounded set from the underrated pianist.