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Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio: Smokin’ in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse (1966)
by C. Michael Bailey
In his superb contribution to Bloomsbury Press' 33 & 1/3 series, Bitches Brew (2015), George Grella notes (emphasis mine): “No style of art can remain static: irrelevance is just as much a risk as the inevitable decadence that comes from a style developing to its last measure. But fans, including critics, of particular movements of artists, tend to want what they love to stay the same, the regression is not to the mean but to an Edenic past ...
Continue ReadingWes Montgomery: In the Beginning
by Luca Canini
Anche i giganti hanno cominciato da piccoli. Lontani dai riflettori e dalle luci delle capitali del jazz, sui palchi più o meno scalcagnati di una città qualunque. Indianapolis, nel caso di Wes Montgomery. Prima della fama, prima di cambiare per sempre il concetto di sei corde applicato all'improvvisazione, è nel cuore del Midwest che il chitarrista nato John Leslie si è fatto le ossa. Anni di oscuro mestiere a fianco dei fratelli Monk e Buddy o delle stelle di passaggio ...
Continue ReadingWes Montgomery: In The Beginning-Early Recordings from 1949-1958
by Hrayr Attarian
Guitarist Wes Montgomery, despite his tragically short life, was very prolific and immensely impactful. Equally adept at sophisticated instrumental virtuosity and lighter, more commercially appealing sounds, Montgomery influenced majority of guitar players who appeared on the jazz scene during the 1960s and after. Montgomery cut his first record Fingerpickin' for Pacific Jazz in 1958 at the age of 35. During the preceding decade, however, Montgomery performed regularly despite having a “day job" at a factory. With In The ...
Continue ReadingClassic Jazz Guitar
by Bob Patterson
This article was originally published in August 2005. To pick the top ten of anything is a tough task. When it comes to the subject of jazz guitar, the task is enormously difficult. However, these are the ten most influential guitarists (in my opinion), arranged in somewhat chronological order. Each recording listed is the one that either put them on the map or serves as an excellent example of their style. Because of the guitar's highly individualized nature, ...
Continue ReadingWes Montgomery: So Much Guitar!
by C. Michael Bailey
Wes MontgomerySo Much Guitar!OJC1962/2013 Wes Montgomery's So Much Guitar! continues the latest round of re-releases/re-masters from the Concord Music Group, celebrating the 60th anniversary of Riverside Records. So Much Guitar! follows the re-releases of singer and trumpeter Chet Baker's Chet Baker Plays The Best Of Lerner & Loewe (OJC/Riverside, 1959/2013) and Mulligan Meets Monk (OJC/Riverside, 1957/2013) in the label's birthday celebration. Montgomery enjoyed a productive stay at Riverside between ...
Continue ReadingWes Montgomery: Echoes of Indiana Avenue
by C. Michael Bailey
In welcome fits of serendipity, the manuscripts of previously unknown European classical compositions are found in attics, old churches or forgotten libraries and brought to light with no little fanfare. In the United States, there is an equivalent situation with hitherto previously unissued jazz recordings being revealed in the most unlikely places. In a recent example, producer Michael Cuscuna got wind of some unissued music by guitarist Wes Montgomery (1923-1968) being offered on eBay. Due to the short length of ...
Continue ReadingWes Montgomery: Echoes of Indiana
by AAJ Italy Staff
La ricerca di registrazioni inedite, perdute, connesse a fasi iniziali della carriera di un artista o a un passaggio fondamentale della storia del jazz, è una costante da sempre del collezionismo specializzato. Ha portato numerose gioie: si pensi in anni recenti alla scoperta di registrazioni live del quintetto di Parker e Gillespie Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 / The Quintet of the Year) o analoghi documenti del quartetto di Monk e Coltrane (Thelonious Monk Quartet with John ...
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