This release contains the complete classic albums The Montgomery Brothers & Five Others (1958), Montgomeryland (1959) and Wes, Buddy & Monk (1958). Also included are all the songs featuring solos by Wes Montgomery from the LPs Kismet (1958) and A Good Git Together (1959) and, as a final bonus, a rare 1955 Montgomery Brothers version of Love for Sale appearing here on CD for the first time ever - taken from a long out of print compilation LP called appropriately, Almost Forgotten.
Artist Biography
Artist Biography
Born
in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States (where he also died of a heart
attack in 1968), Montgomery came from a musical family, in which his
brothers, Monk (string bass and electric bass) and Buddy (vibraphone,
and piano), were jazz performers. Although Wes was not skilled at
reading music, he could learn complex melodies and riffs by ear.
Montgomery started learning guitar in his late teens, listening to and
learning recordings of his idol, the guitarist Charlie Christian.
Along
with the use of octaves (playing the same note on two strings one
octave apart) for which he is widely known, Montgomery was also an
excellent “single-line” or “single-note” player, and was very
influential in the use of block chords in his solos. His playing on the
jazz standard “Lover Man” is an example of his single-note, octave and
block chord soloing. (”Lover Man” appears on the Fantasy album THE
MONTGOMERY BROTHERS.)
Instead
of using a guitar pick, Montgomery plucked the strings with the fleshy
part of his thumb, using downstrokes for single notes and a combination
of upstrokes and downstrokes for chords and octaves. This technique
enabled him to get a mellow, expressive tone from his guitar. George
Benson, in the liner notes of the Ultimate Wes Montgomery album, wrote
that “Wes had a corn on his thumb, which gave his sound that point. He
would get one sound for the soft parts, and then that point by using the
corn. That's why no one will ever match Wes. And his thumb was double-
jointed. He could bend it all the way back to touch his wrist, which he
would do to shock people.”
He
generally played a Gibson L-5CES guitar. In his later years he played
one of two guitars that Gibson custom made for him. In his early years,
Montgomery had a tube amp, often a Fender. In his later years he played a
Standel.
Montgomery
toured with vibraphonist Lionel Hampton's orchestra from July 1948 to
January 1950, and can be heard on recordings from this period.
Montgomery then returned to Indianapolis and did not record again until
December 1957 (save for one session in 1955), when he took part in a
session that included his brothers Monk and Buddy, as well as trumpeter
Freddie Hubbard, who made his recording debut with Montgomery. Most of
the recordings made by Montgomery and his brothers from 1957-1959 were
released on the Pacific Jazz label.
From
1959 Montgomery was signed to the Riverside Records label, and remained
there until late 1963, just before the company went bankrupt. The
recordings made during this period are widely considered by fans and
jazz historians to be Montgomery's best and most influential. Two
sessions in January 1960 yielded The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes
Montgomery, which was recorded as a quartet with pianist Tommy Flanagan,
bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath. The album
featured one of Montgomery's most well-known compositions, “Four on
Six.”
Almost
all of Montgomery's output on Riverside featured the guitarist in a
small group setting, usually a quartet or quintet, playing a mixture of
hard- swinging uptempo jazz numbers and quiet ballads. In 1964
Montgomery moved to Verve Records for two years. His stay at Verve
yielded a number of albums where he was featured with an orchestra, and
during this period Montgomery's music started to shift in to the
territory of pop music. One notable exception is 1965's Smokin' at the
Half Note, which showcased two memorable appearances at the famous New
York City club with the Wynton Kelly Trio. Wes continued to play
outstanding live jazz guitar, as evidenced by surviving audio and video
recordings from his 1965 tour of Europe.
As
a considered founder of the Smooth Jazz school the album “Bumpin'”
(1965) represents a model from which many modern recording are derived.
In it, a full orchestral type of scoring goes beyond the artist's own
ability to riff creating a wholistic concept of music and of Jazz.
Longer clips from all of the tracks tracks on “Bumpin'” and other Wes
Montgomery albums are found on Verve Records website.
By
the time Montgomery released his first album for A&M Records, he
had seemingly totally abandoned the straightforward jazz of his earlier
career for the more lucrative pop market. The three albums released
during his A&M period (1967-68) feature orchestral renditions of
famous pop songs (”Scarborough Fair,” “I Say a Little Prayer for You,”
“Eleanor Rigby,” etc.) with Montgomery reciting the melody with his
guitar. While these records were the most commercially successful of his
career, they are now poorly regarded by some fans and critics.
Montgomery's home town of Indianapolis has named a park in his honor.
Many
jazz and rock guitarists today list Montgomery among their influences
including: Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Martino, Lee Ritenour, Pat
Metheny, George Benson, Pete Smyser, Chris Standring, Eric Johnson,
Yoshiaki Miyanoue and Joe Satriani.
By
some accounts, Montgomery has been the most influential jazz guitarist
of all time, whose style has transcended into other forms of music,
including Rock 'n' Roll, Soul, and Rhythm and Blues.[citation needed]
Many songwriters and composers have written musical tributes to him,
including Stevie Wonder and Eric Johnson.
///////
Biografía del artista
Nacido
en Indianápolis, Indiana, Estados Unidos (donde también murió de un
ataque al corazón en 1968), Montgomery provenía de una familia de
músicos, en la que sus hermanos, Monk (bajo de cuerda y bajo eléctrico) y
Buddy (vibráfono y piano), eran intérpretes de jazz. Aunque Wes no era
hábil en la lectura de música, podía aprender de oído melodías complejas
y riffs. Montgomery comenzó a aprender guitarra en su adolescencia,
escuchando y aprendiendo grabaciones de su ídolo, el guitarrista Charlie
Christian.
Junto
con el uso de octavas (tocando la misma nota en dos cuerdas separadas
por una octava) por lo que es ampliamente conocido, Montgomery fue
también un excelente intérprete de "una sola línea" o "una sola nota", y
fue muy influyente en el uso de acordes de bloque en sus solos. Su
interpretación en el estándar de jazz "Lover Man" es un ejemplo de sus
solos de una sola nota, octava y acorde de bloque. ("Lover Man" aparece
en el álbum de fantasía THE MONTGOMERY BROTHERS.)
En
lugar de usar una púa de guitarra, Montgomery desplumó las cuerdas con
la parte carnosa de su pulgar, usando las pulsaciones hacia abajo para
notas simples y una combinación de pulsaciones hacia arriba y hacia
abajo para acordes y octavas. Esta técnica le permitió obtener un tono
suave y expresivo de su guitarra. George Benson, en las notas del disco
Ultimate Wes Montgomery, escribió que "Wes tenía una mazorca en el
pulgar, lo que le dio ese punto a su sonido. Obtenía un sonido para las
partes blandas, y luego ese punto usando el maíz. Por eso nadie podrá
igualar a Wes. Y su pulgar estaba doblemente articulado. Podía doblarlo
todo para tocarse la muñeca, lo que hacía para sorprender a la gente".
Generalmente
tocaba una guitarra Gibson L-5CES. En sus últimos años tocó una de las
dos guitarras que Gibson fabricó para él. En sus primeros años,
Montgomery tenía un amplificador a válvulas, a menudo un Fender. En sus
últimos años tocó un Standel.
Montgomery
realizó una gira con la orquesta del vibrafonista Lionel Hampton desde
julio de 1948 hasta enero de 1950, y se puede escuchar en grabaciones de
este período. Montgomery regresó a Indianápolis y no volvió a grabar
hasta diciembre de 1957 (salvo una sesión en 1955), cuando participó en
una sesión que incluyó a sus hermanos Monk y Buddy, así como al
trompetista Freddie Hubbard, quien hizo su debut discográfico con
Montgomery. La mayoría de las grabaciones hechas por Montgomery y sus
hermanos entre 1957 y 1959 fueron editadas por el sello Pacific Jazz.
A
partir de 1959, Montgomery fue fichado por el sello Riverside Records y
permaneció allí hasta finales de 1963, justo antes de que la empresa
quebrara. Las grabaciones realizadas durante este período son
ampliamente consideradas por los aficionados y los historiadores del
jazz como las mejores y más influyentes de Montgomery. Dos sesiones en
enero de 1960 dieron como resultado The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes
Montgomery, que fue grabado como un cuarteto con el pianista Tommy
Flanagan, el bajista Percy Heath y el baterista Albert "Tootie" Heath.
El álbum contenía una de las composiciones más conocidas de Montgomery,
"Four on Six".
Casi
toda la producción de Montgomery en Riverside presentaba al guitarrista
en un pequeño grupo, generalmente un cuarteto o quinteto, tocando una
mezcla de números de jazz y baladas tranquilas. En 1964 Montgomery se
mudó a Verve Records por dos años. Su estancia en Verve produjo varios
álbumes donde fue presentado con una orquesta, y durante este período la
música de Montgomery comenzó a cambiar hacia el territorio de la música
pop. Una excepción notable es el Smokin' at the Half Note de 1965, que
mostró dos apariciones memorables en el famoso club de la ciudad de
Nueva York con el Wynton Kelly Trio. Wes continuó tocando la guitarra de
jazz en vivo, como lo demuestran las grabaciones de audio y video de su
gira por Europa en 1965.
Como
considerado fundador de la escuela de Smooth Jazz, el álbum "Bumpin'"
(1965) representa un modelo del que se derivan muchas grabaciones
modernas. En ella, un tipo de partitura orquestal completa va más allá
de la propia capacidad del artista para riffar, creando un concepto
holístico de la música y del Jazz. Los clips más largos de todas las
canciones de "Bumpin'" y otros álbumes de Wes Montgomery se encuentran
en el sitio web de Verve Records.
Para
cuando Montgomery lanzó su primer álbum para A&M Records, había
abandonado totalmente el jazz directo de su carrera anterior por el
mercado pop más lucrativo. Los tres álbumes publicados durante su
periodo A&M (1967-68) incluyen interpretaciones orquestales de
famosas canciones pop ("Scarborough Fair", "I Say a Little Prayer for
You", "Eleanor Rigby", etc.) con Montgomery recitando la melodía con su
guitarra. Aunque estos discos fueron los más exitosos comercialmente de
su carrera, ahora son mal vistos por algunos aficionados y críticos.
La ciudad natal de Montgomery, Indianápolis, ha nombrado un parque en su honor.
Muchos
guitarristas de jazz y rock hoy en día incluyen a Montgomery entre sus
influencias, incluyendo: Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Martino, Lee
Ritenour, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Pete Smyser, Chris Standring, Eric
Johnson, Yoshiaki Miyanoue y Joe Satriani.
Tracklisting:
CD1
1 - Finger Pickin' (Montgomery) 2:30
2 - Sound Carrier (Montgomery) 6:55
3 - Lois Ann (Montgomery) 4:44
4 - Bud's Beaux Arts (Montgomery) 7:31
5 - Bock to Bock (Montgomery) 10:07
6 - All the Things You Are (Hammerstein, Kern) 3:57
7 - Billie's Bounce (Parker) 4:40
8 - Far Wes (Montgomery) 5:55
9 - Leila (Montgomery) 3:30
10 - Old Folks (Hill, Robison) 6:38
11 - Wes' Tune (Montgomery) 4:11
12 - Hymn for Carl (Land) 4:37
13 - Montgomeryland Funk (Montgomery) 4:03
14 - Stompin' at the Savoy (Goodman, Razaf, Sampson, Webb) 4:24
15 - Love for Sale (Porter) 3:42 (*)
Total time: 77:44 min.
(*) First time on CD.
CD2
1 - Summertime (Gershwin, Gershwin, Heyward ) 4:53
2 - Monk's Shop (Montgomery) 3:58
3 - Falling in Love With Love (Hart, Rodgers) 6:16
4 - Renie (Montgomery) 3:33
5 - Ouverture (Wright, Forrest) 6:40
6 - And this is My Beloved (Wright, Forrest) 6:18
7 - Fate (Wright, Forrest) 5:01
8 - Stranger in Paradise (Borodin, Forrest, Wright) 4:54
9 - Baubles, Bangles and Beads (Forrest, Wright) 3:27
10 - Not Since Nineveh (Forrest, Wright) 7:24
11 - A Good Git Together (Hendricks) 3:42
12 - Feed Me (Hendricks) 3:49
13 - Music in the Air (Hendricks, Gryce) 3:57
14 - Pretty Strange (Hendricks, Weston) 2:53
15 - The Shouter (Hendricks, Malhones) 5:03
16 - Social Call (Hendricks, Gryce) 2:22
17 - Out of the Past (Hendricks, Golson) 4:54
Total time: 79:08 min.
Personnel:
Wes Montgomery (g), Monk Montgomery (b), Buddy Montgomery (vib, p), Freddie Hubbard (tp), Harold Land, Alonzo Johnson, Wayman Atkinson (ts), Pony Poindexter (as), Joe Bradley (p), Paul Parker, Louis Hayes (d)
Notes:
CD 1:
Tracks #1-7 originally issued as "The Montgomery Brothers & Five Others" (World Pacific WP 1240). Personnel: Wes Montgomery (g), Freddie Hubbard (tp), Wayman Atkinson, Alonzo Johnson (ts), Buddy Montgomery (vib), Joe Bradley (p), Monk Montgomery (b) and Paul Parker (d). Recorded in Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 30, 1957.
Tracks #8-14 originally issued as "Montgomeryland" (Pacific Jazz PJ 5). Personnel: Wes Montgomery (g), Harold Land (ts), Buddy Montgomery (p), Monk Montgomery (b) and Tony Bazley (d). Recorded in Los Angeles, on April 18, 1958.
Track #15 taken from the various artist compilation "Almost Forgotten" (Columbia FC 38509). Personnel: Alonzo Johnson (ts), Buddy Montgomery (p), Wes Montgomery (g), Monk Montgomery (b) and Robert Johnson (d). Recorded in New York City, on June 15, 1955.
CD 2:
Tracks #1-4 also from Pony "The Montgomeryland" LP. Personnel: Wes Montgomery (g), Poindexter (as), Buddy Montgomery (p), Monk Montgomery (b) and Louis Hayes (d). Recorded in Los Angeles, on October 1, 1959.
Tracks #5-10 taken from Mastersounds' "Kismet" (World Pacific WP 1243). Personnel: Monk Montgomery (b, ldr), Wes Montgomery (g), Buddy Montgomery (vib), Richie Crabtree (p) and Benny Barth (d). Recorded at Forum Theatre, in Los Angeles, on April 22, 1958.
Tracks #11-17 taken from John Hendricks' "A Good Git-Together" (World Pacific WP 1283). Personnel: Pony Poindexter (as, vo), Gildo Mahones (p), Wes Montgomery (g), Monk Montgomery (b), Walter Bolden (d) and Jon Hendricks (vcl). Recorded at Fugazi Hall, in San Francisco, October, 1959.
-Montgomeryland
"Rarely does an LP rate the four-star bit for the playing of just one musician on the album, but this one does. The man who does this is the phenomenal Wes Montgomery. Yes phenomenal. I feel that Montgomery is not just the best thing to happen to jazz guitar since Charlie Christian, as Ralph Gleason says, but the best thing to happen to jazz guitar, period! This album can be summed up in three words: Wes Montgomery, yeah!"
Don DeMicheal -Down Beat (1958)
-Mastersounds' Kismet
"Wes Montgomery's only featured appearance on a Mastersounds album has been excerpted here and there on LP and CD but never reissued in its entirety; this is both difficult and easy to understand. With such a relatively small discography for a jazz giant, you would think that EMI, the current owners of this tape, would rush to put the whole thing out. On the other hand, the score of Kismet -- based on confectionery adaptations of melodies by Russian composer Alexander Borodin -- has worn out its welcome over the decades, and the Mastersounds interpretations sometimes border on lounge-ish run-throughs of the tunes (with corny "gong" smashes). Nevertheless, the album gives us a good look at Montgomery when he was just about to break out of Indianapolis. Often when he appears, whether solo or on rhythm, he gives the group a kick that takes it out of a sedate MJQ mindset. He is especially lively and swinging on "Not Since Nineveh," "Baubles Bangles and Beads," and "Stranger in Paradise." Yet even when he doesn't ignite the band, his performances are always worth hearing."
Richsrd S. Ginell -All Music Guide
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