Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery on Resonance Records

Once a record label has established itself as a conduit for ethical reissues, with all the aesthetic and legal challenges that they have to deal with, collectors in possession of rare tapes tend to seek them out. So it is with the Resonance label, with their beautifully done packages of previously unheard music by the likes of Freddie Hubbard, Grant Green, and Larry Young. Two of the most important and widely influential jazz artists of the Fifties and Sixties, pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Wes Montgomery, are each represented by multiple Resonance sets.

Evans In England is the fourth Resonance release for the pianist, documenting a couple of sets recorded at Ronnie Scott’s famed club by the 1969 edition of his trio with Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums. The repertoire is familiar; only Michel Legrand’s What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? was new to the band’s book for this engagement. Sound quality is pretty good for a surreptitious tape made by one of Evans’ European admirers, and the pianist is in top-notch form throughout the 110 minutes of playing time. Lengthy bass solos by Gomez are about the only distraction from Evans’ energetic playing on this set. Resonance has done their usual superb job of presentation, populating a 34-page booklet with rare photos, reminiscences with Gomez and Morell, and liner notes by Marc Myers. There is also a brief essay by, and an interview with Leon Terjanian, whom Resonance producer Zev Feldman calls “a passionate collector” and a member of Evans’ inner circle. He’s the source for this material, though not the recordist. There’s quite a lot of Bill Evans material out there; Tom Lord’s Jazz Discography lists over 200 sessions as leader. But for his hard-core fans, there’s never really enough, and this lovingly complied set will definitely satisfy.

Wes Montgomery’s Resonance projects have been split between Indiana recordings that predate his “official” releases and later live recordings after his skills were well known to jazz fans around the world. The latest set is Back On Indiana Avenue: The Carroll DeCamp Recordings, two CDs of early sessions that lack many of the data points that obsess some jazz fans. There are only rough dates, the locations are largely unknown, and the identities of the other musicians are largely guesswork. But it doesn’t matter that much, since Montgomery sounds so damn good whatever the context. The tapes come from a collection maintained by Carroll DeCamp, a pianist and arranger in Indianapolis who passed away in 2013. It turns out that Echoes Of Indiana Avenue, the first Resonance compilation of early Wes Montgomery, was also derived from DeCamp’s tapes, but no one knew that at the time. With the assistance of jazz educator and publisher Jamey Aebersold, who obtained the tapes from DeCamp merely by asking to preserve them, we now have a couple of hours of fine music to enjoy. When you consider the casual recording circumstances and the passage of time, the music is pretty good sounding, and happily the guitar is usually prominent. The material is organized by instrumentation. The first seven tunes on CD1 are quartets of guitar, piano, bass and drums. The rest of the CD is filled out by four tracks by an organ trio and two more by the trio plus David Baker on trombone and David Young on tenor saxophone. Disc 2 is labeled “Nat ‘King’ Cole-style trios with guitar, bass and drums.” Besides the sheer joy to be found in Montgomery’s guitar forays over more two hours of newly-restored sounds from more than half a century ago, there’s the obvious historical dimension to these early works. The big revelation in that regard is the inclusion what appear to be the earliest versions we have for four of Montgomery’s original compositions: Four on Six, Mr. Walker, West Coast Blues, and Jingles. Author Lewis Porter discusses the recording history of these songs, and much more, in his long essay in the accompanying booklet. As usual, the booklet, expanded to 44 pages, features plenty of period photos and a slew of brief interviews and recollections. Reissue producer Zev Feldman has his say, and we also hear from guitarists John Scofield and George Benson, along with memories of Carroll DeCamp by several of his family members. With this set, their sixth Montgomery collection, Resonance continues to reshape the career arc of one of the most revered guitarists in jazz history. Absolutely recommended.
Bill Evans: Resonance HCD-2037; Bill Evans (p) Eddie Gomez (b) Marty Morell (d); London, England, December 1969; Disc 1 (55:39): Our Love is Here to Stay/ Sugar Plum/ Stella by Starlight/ My Foolish Heart/ Waltz For Debby/ ‘Round Midnight/ The Two Lonely People/ Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me). Disc 2 (56:21): Elsa/ What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?/ Turn Out the Stars/ Re: Person I Knew/ Goodbye/ Come Rain or Come Shine/ Very Early/ So What/ Midnight Mood/ Polka Dots and Moonbeams.
Wes Montgomery: Resonance HCD-2036; Wes Montgomery (g) with (collective personnel, “educated guesses”) Earl Van Riper, Buddy Montgomery, John Bunch, Carl Perkins (p) Melvin Rhyne (org, p) Monk Montgomery, Mingo Jones (b) Paul Parker, Sonny Johnson (d) David Baker (tbn on *) David Young (ts on *); Indianapolis, IN, possibly mid- to late 1950s; Disc 1 (67:05): Piano Quartets: Four on Six/ Mr. Walker/ ‘Round Midnight/ So What/ The End of a Love Affair/ Tune-Up/ West Coast Blues. Organ Trio: Jingles/ It’s You or No One/ Nothing Ever Changes My Love For You/ Ecaroh. Sextet: Sandu*/ Whisper Not*. Disc 2 (64:04): Nat “King” Cole-Style Trios : Stompin’ at the Savoy/ It’s You or No One/ Opus de Funk/ Summertime/ Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea/ Easy Living/ Four/ I’ll Remember April/ The Song is You. resonancerecords.org. Both releases are available on CD and limited edition vinyl.