Wes Montgomery by Oliver Dunskus

Author:Oliver Dunskus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Books on Demand
Published: 2020-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

Recorded January 26 and 28, 1960

Released 1960

Original Label Riverside RLP-320

Producer Orrin Keepnews

Artwork Lawrence M. Shustak

Titles 1. Airegin’

2. D-Natural Blues

3. Polka Dots and Moonbeams

4. Four On Six

5. West Coast Blues

6. In Your Own Sweet Way

7. Mister Walker

8. Gone With The Wind

Steve Howe:

“The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. It encapsulates what he was able to do. I was actually lucky enough to see him live when I was 16 at Ronnie Scott’s. That was an experience.”151 “I have saved the entire album in my brain, i know every quarter-second of it“

Keepnews had been well aware that Wes’ first album had not been perfect, so first class musicians were hired for the next one: Tommy Flanagan had already performed with Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Ella Fitzgerald and Kenny Burrell and was scheduled to play with Coleman Hawkins the next day. Percy Heath on bass had co-founded the Modern Jazz Quartet six years earlier and already shared the stage with Miles, Dizzy and Charlie Parker. His brother Albert Heath (*1935), who is still alive and playing as these lines are written (in early 2019) was a regular member of J. J. Johnson’s group and described by Kenny Clarke as “the hardest working drummer i know“.

To optimize things, Keepnews had planned a recording date with Nat Adderley running in parallel at the same studio, for which Wes and Percy Heath were planned as sidemen.

“From the start, no one had to coax players of the caliber of Percy Heath or Tommy Flanagan to record with Wes, and I still remember his early sessions among the most enjoyable I’ve ever been involved in“152 Keepnews recalls. And it went smoothly: West Coast Blues only needed two takes, Gone with The Wind was performed only on. The hoped-for pace of four tunes per day was actually exceeded when a fifth selection was completed before we stopped recording on the first day... We succeeded completely as all elements fell into place, aided immensely by the accompanying players’ high regard for Wes and by the fact that his four original compositions included his most attractive line (West Coast Blues) and one of his catchiest (Four on Six, based on Gershwin’s Summertime), the latter including a memorable bass figure that musicians still delight in playing“153

Although the album was not really a commercial success, it put Wes on top of the scene and remains one of the most important and highly regarded jazz guitar albums to this day. All titles are excellent, but it is West Coast Blues that stands out as Wes’ masterpiece, demonstrating his vast amount of ideas, originality, richness as it escalates from one chorus to the next over nine choruses, until at last, Flanagan takes over. It also showcases “pure Wes“ in the sense that he begins with single lines, moves to octaves and finishes with block chords in the context of a blues-based theme. This piece has become a favorite for aspiring jazz guitar students to study at universities and conservatories.

But there are other gems.

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