Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Wes Montgomery: One Night in Indy

5

Wes Montgomery: One Night in Indy

By

View read count
Wes Montgomery: One Night in Indy
In the Resonance Wes Montgomery catalog, One Night in Indy: Featuring the Eddie Higgins Trio (2016) falls in between In The Beginning (Resonance, 2015) and Smokin' in Seattle: Live At the Penthouse 1966 (Resonance, 2017). It is documentation of Montgomery, appearing with the Eddie Higgins Trio at the Indianapolis Jazz Club, January 18, 1959. These performances, not previously released, fall chronologically between In The Beginning and Wes Montgomery: Beginnings (Blue Note, 1959). the Wes Montgomery Trio (Riverside, 1959); The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (Riverside, 1960); and Wes Montgomery: So Much Guitar! (Riverside, 1962) were all yet to come.

One Night in Indy provides the naïve listener with Montgomery in incubation. Already fully formed as an artist, Montgomery's style here is acquiring its rounded edges that would make the guitarist's sound classic in the coming years. First, a note of caution: sonically, this recording leaves something to be desired, as is often necessary with considering archival material like this. That said, the dates sound gives these performances a decidedly noir sound that is abundantly evident on "Prelude to a Kiss." Less noir is the swinging "Stompin' at the Savoy." Montgomery is in full flight, the guitarist pulling out his entire arsenal: single notes, block chords, and octaves, delivering them all at an impressive tempo. Pianist Higgins, plays up to the challenge, sounding like a cross between Wynton Kelly and Red Garland with the touch of an Oscar Peterson.

Neil Hefti's "Li'l Darlin'" juxtaposes well with "Savoy," demonstrating both ends of the swing era. Montgomery makes a fine vehicle of the piece long associated with Count Basie. A further juxtaposition is posed with Thelonious Monk's angular "Ruby, My Dear," where Higgins is given a wide berth within which to solo. Montgomery sounds both pensive and resigned as he provides filigree to Higgins' chording. The closing piece, Cole Porter's "You'd be So Nice to Come Home To" is the shortest piece on the recording and perhaps the finest performed. One Night in Indy provides a compelling look at an unparalleled artist in the ascending arc of this career.

Track Listing

Give Me the Simple Life; Prelude to a Kiss; Stompin’ as the Savoy; Li’l Darlin’; Ruby My Dear; You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To.

Personnel

Wes Montgomery: guitar; Eddie Higgins: piano; Unknown: bass; Walter Perkins: drums.

Album information

Title: One Night in Indy | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Resonance Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.