The Wes Montgomery

This CD features a live concert, recorded in Europe in 1965. The program consists of two jazz standards, one original by Coltrane and three compositions of Montgomery himself, in which we can enjoy. Montgomery's talent to create perfectly shaped phrases with tremendous rhythmic drive. Using his thumb instead of a plectrum, he achieves a soft attack and he is able to free his fingers to play octaves and chordal passages that are still sensational, even to the young guitar players of today's jazz.

Wes Montgomery's final record (before his death from a heart attack at age 45) is, as with his two previous A&M releases, pure pop. The great guitarist sticks to simple melody statements (with a lot of octaves thrown in) while backed by Don Sebesky's unimaginative arrangements for an orchestra; commercially the combination was a big success.

Wes Montgomery's last album for Verve (other than an exciting collaboration with Jimmy Smith) is a so-so orchestral date featuring arrangements by Don Sebesky. The material (which includes "Sunny" and "California Dreaming") is strictly pop fluff of the era and the great guitarist has little opportunity to do much other than state the melody in his trademark octaves. This record was perfect for AM radio of the period.

Wes Montgomery - The Wes Montgomery Trio: A Dynamic New Sound (1959) {Riverside Japan Mini LP VICJ-41532 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 295 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 112 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 101 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959, 2006 Riverside / Victor Japan | VICJ-41532 | Mini LP | 20bit K2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Pop / Guitar

Wes Montgomery's first album as a leader – a relatively obscure set that has him playing in a trio with Indianapolis bandmates Mel Rhyne on organ and Paul Parker on drums – a mode that strongly recalls Montgomery's roots in the Indy scene at the time! If you only know the later, famous Wes Montgomery with bigger charts, you'll be surprised to hear him here in a cooking little combo – the kind of group that made Mel Rhyne a local Hammond hero in Indy, although it seemed to take decades for him to get any sort of larger recognition. The groove is straight and simple, but the real charm is Wes' chromatic lines on guitar – already quite distinctive among his contemporaries, and allowed ample room to express their voice in this setting.

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.

Wes Montgomery was reunited with his brothers Monk and Buddy on this 1961 Riverside session, which also features drummer Bobby Thomas. The guitarist and his brothers are in great form throughout the session in spite of the less-than-ideal piano provided. According to producer Orrin Keepnews, Buddy Montgomery originally intended to split his time on the date between vibes and piano, but the failure of the motor on the former instrument caused him to spend most of his time at the keyboard. The highlight of the evening in the studio is a foot-tapping version of Carl Perkins' "Groove Yard," followed closely by a wild ride through Harold Land's "Delirium." The leader contributed the soulful hard bop work "Doujie." The pianist wrote the driving "Just for Now" and the easygoing blues "Bock to Bock."

The two-CD set Impressions: The Verve Jazz Sessions salvages Wes Montgomery's straight jazz sessions for Verve, leaving the pop-oriented covers and orchestral sessions to the original albums. There are selected numbers from albums like Movin' Wes, Goin' Out of My Head and California Dreaming, illustrating that those albums were hardly worthless - each track proves that Montgomery's touch remained elegant and supremely tasteful. The second disc is devoted to the complete sessions for Smokin' at the Half Note, the legendary recording Montgomery made at Van Gelder Studios in 1965 with bassist Paul Chambers, pianist Wynton Kelly and drummer Jimmy Cobb…

The incredible Wes Montgomery of 1960 was more discernible and distinctive than the guitarist who would emerge a few years later as a pop stylist and precursor to George Benson in the '70s. On this landmark recording, Montgomery veered away from his home Indianapolis-based organ combo with Melvin Rhyne, the California-based Montgomery Brothers band, and other studio sidemen he had been placed with briefly. Off to New York City and a date with Tommy Flanagan's trio, Montgomery seems in his post- to hard bop element, swinging fluently with purpose, drive, and vigor not heard in an electric guitarist since bop progenitor Charlie Christian. Setting him apart from the rest, this recording established Montgomery as the most formidable modern guitarist of the era, and eventually its most influential…

Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings is the first official release of the complete previously unissued recordings from jazz guitar giant Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio at the famed Half Note jazz club in New York City in 1965 with drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassists Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Herman Wright and Larry Ridley. Including over 2 hours from the original radio broadcasts with host Alan Grant, the deluxe 2-CD set is mastered by Matthew Lutthans. 2023 marks Wes Montgomery’s Centennial (born March 6, 1923), and this is Resonance’s 7th release of Wes Montgomery recordings in cooperation with the estate. Now Wes Montgomery fans can hear the rest of the music from the Half Note that was only broadcast on the radio nearly 60 years ago.

As the title of this compilation implies, this is Wes at his mellowest and, unfortunately, poppiest. Much of this is supplemented (and sometimes encumbered) by large orchestration, and the material is sometimes substandard. Montgomery's playing is always good, and some of the tracks are fine indeed (like the title cut and "Maybe September," both of which feature Jimmy Smith. But unless you're specifically in the market for dim-the-lights music, this isn't the best place to experience Wes, stressing some of the less impressive aspects of his later years.