Guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded many exceptional albums, but the one that stands out for me is The Incredible Jazz Guitar (Riverside). Backed by Tommy Flanagan on piano, Percy Heath on bass and Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums, Montgomery is presented in classic form in this January 1960 recording produced by Orrin Keepnews. The album has just been re-issued on 180-gram vinyl by Craft Recordings. The digital download version was released earlier.
Included in the National Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, the new LP release is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes at Cohearent Audio and presented in a Stoughton Tip-On Jacket—fancy talk for adhered to the cardboard jacket the way it was originally. It sounds great—with depth and space, letting you really hear Montgomery's ringing notes.
What makes this album special is Montgomery's understated swing, muscular thumb picking, improvised melodic lines and in-the-pocket groove. Then, of course, you have the impeccable Flanagan, with his lush touch, providing a velvet backdrop for Montgomery's note-bending, octave notes and terrific taste when nailing a song and making it his own.
This is especially true on the album's originals—D-Natural Blues, Four on Six, West Coast Blues and Mr. Walker. And on the gentle standards—Airegin, Polka Dots and Moonbeams and In Your Own Sweet Way.
But my favorite on the album has always been Gone With the Wind. Though inspired by Margaret Mitchell's novel, the 1937 song became a jazz standard in the 1950s. I love how it's taken as a straight read in walking mid-tempo before Montgomery shifts gears and starts playing with the melody. Then he shifts again to octave notes. Three quarters of the way in, he shifts into block chords. All of this is an unmatched display of spectacular technique and jazz style.
The tracks:
- Airegin (Sonny Rollins)
- D-Natural Blues (Wes Montgomery)
- Polka Dots and Moonbeams (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)
- Four on Six (Montgomery)
- West Coast Blues (Montgomery)
- In Your Own Sweet Way (Dave Brubeck)
- Mr. Walker (Montgomery)
- Gone With the Wind (Allie Wrubel, Herb Magidson)
To explore the emergence of the post-war jazz guitar, one truly must start with this album. It remains a cornerstone of the music, and the new vinyl gives you Montgomery's soul in rich fidelity.
Wes Montgomery died in 1968.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Craft Recordings' new LP re-issue of The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery here.
If you prefer the digital download of the Craft-remastered album, go here.
JazzWax clips: Here's D-Natural Blues, the new Craft remastering...
And here's Gone With the Wind from the Craft remaster...
Bonus: Here's a half-hour of Wes Montgomery in Brussels, Belgium, in April 1965, with Harold Mabern (p), Arthur Harper (b) and Jimmy Lovelace (d)...
