Wes Montgomery

Wes Montgomery – Incredible Jazz Guitar (1960) [Reissue 2003]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 43:46 minutes | Scans included | 1,76 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 900 MB

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. There’s some classic material here, including the cat-quick but perhaps a trifle anxious version of the Sonny Rollins bop evergreen “Airegin,” the famous repeated modal progressive and hard bop jam “Four on Six,” and Montgomery’s immortal soul waltz “West Coast Blues,” effortlessly rendered with its memorable melody and flowing, elegant chiffon-like lines. Flanagan, at a time shortly after leaving his native Detroit, is the perfect pianist for this session. He plays forcefully but never overtly so on the bop tracks, offering up his trademark delicacy on the laid-back “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” and easy-as-pie “Gone with the Wind.” With the dynamic Philadelphia rhythm section of brothers Percy Heath on bass and drummer Albert Heath, they play a healthy Latin beat on the choppy and dramatic melody of Montgomery’s original “Mr. Walker.” Montgomery is clearly talented beyond convention, consistently brilliant, and indeed incredible in the company of his sidemen, and this recording – an essential addition to every jazz guitarist fan’s collection – put him on the map.

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Wes Montgomery – A Day In The Life (1967) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD ‘2014]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 34:30 minutes | Scans included | 1,4 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 643 MB

By the time Wes Montgomery recorded this album (his debut for A&M), he was a major name in the pop world. Montgomery’s melodic renditions of current pop hits caught on and were played regularly on Top 40 radio. In most cases the guitarist did little more than play the melody, using his distinctive octaves, and it was enough to make him saleable. Of his three A&M recordings, A Day in the Life (the first one) was by far the best and, although the jazz content is almost nil, the results are pleasing as background music. “Windy” was a bit of a hit; the other selections (which find Montgomery backed by muzaky strings arranged by Don Sebesky) include “Watch What Happens,” “California Nights,” “Eleanor Rigby” and the title cut. (more…)