Wes Montgomery & the Wynton Kelly Trio: Maximum Swing: The Unissued Half Note Recordings

  Guitarist Wes Montgomery and pianist Wynton Kelly first recorded together in late 1961 on Bags Meets Wes!, a Montgomery/ Milt Jackson project for Riverside Records. Clearly, they really got along on a musical level, getting together again for Wes’ Full House in 1962 for Riverside, and for the classic Smokin’ At The Half Note, recorded for Verve at various times during 1965. Now, with the release of Maximum Swing: The Unissued Half Note Recordings, we have another two hours of the Wes Montgomery & the Wynton Kelly Trio to enjoy, all from 1965. The music will be available on limited edition vinyl for Record Store Day and on CD in early December. All of disc one and the first three tracks on disc two of the CD version were originally broadcast on Alan Grant’s WABC Portraits in Jazz radio show. The final five tracks were sourced from the private collection of Yoshio Tokui of the wesFANclub in Japan. Many of the airchecks appeared on bootlegs, in poor sound, but the fan club tapes are previously unissued in any format. The quarter-hour segments of the radio broadcasts featured two or three tunes. On the Tokui recordings, made without the self-editing necessary for the radio show, Wes and company got to really stretch out, extending their performances to lengths unheard in most other settings. Sound quality on the broadcasts is quite good, which took some tinkering by restoration engineer Matthew Lutthans. The poorly recorded Tokui segment is another matter, and Lutthans describes the process of making this section listenable. As rough as it still is after digital manipulation, you get used to the sound after a few minutes. The band’s fantastic 10-minute version of Cherokee, taken at the song’s typical frantic pace, offers a genuine look at Montgomery and company on stage with no considerations beyond hard blowing. Kelly gets to play more on these tracks, too, another bonus. Montgomery is in great form throughout both discs, with several outstanding performances that listeners will return to again and again, including a stunning solo on the November 12 version of Four On Six and more jaw-dropping soloing on The Song is You, which also features some spirited exchanges by Montgomery and Kelly with drummer Jimmy Cobb. The 52-page booklet includes Bill Milkowski’s informative liner notes, Lutthans’ discussion of mastering the album, and a note by Yoshio Tokui on the origin of the tapes. There are also previously unseen photographs by Raymond Ross, remembrances by Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter (who subbed for the incredibly busy Paul Chambers on the November 5 performance), and appreciations by Bill Frisell, Mike Stern, and Marcus Miller. Miller is Wynton Kelly’s cousin and he’s got some good stories to tell. Alan Grant signed off his broadcasts by saying “Stay beautiful” and that’s easy to do when savoring the sounds of Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly trio. Highest recommendation! 

Resonance HCD-2067 (also on vinyl): Wes Montgomery (g) Wynton Kelly (p) Paul Chambers$, Ron Carter*, Larry Ridley#, or Herman Wright% (b) Jimmy Cobb (d); NYC, dates as noted; Disc 1 (50:10): September 24, 1965: Laura/ Cariba/ Blues; November 5, 1965*: Impressions/ Mi Cosa/ No Blues; November 12, 1965#: Birks’ Works/ Four on Six/ The Theme. Disc 2 (74:18): November 19, 1965%: All the Things You Are/ I Remember You/ No Blues; late November, 1965#: Cherokee/ The Song is You/ Four on Six/ Star Eyes/ Oh, You Crazy Moon. www.resonancerecords.org

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.

Wes Montgomery In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording

Famed guitarist Wes Montgomery didn’t like to fly, so his European fans only had one chance to catch him live in performance. Now Resonance has released about 100 minutes of his March 27, 1965, appearance as In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording. His only concert in France, this has been bootlegged on a variety of labels, but this is the first complete and official release. Playing with the deeply compatible rhythm section of pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Arthur Harper, and drummer Jimmy Lovelace, plus a guest appearance by tenor saxophonist and European resident Johnny Griffin, Montgomery is his usual dazzling and hard-swinging self. The program includes such familiar fare as Wes’ originals Four on Six, Jingles, Full House and West Coast Blues, Monk’s ‘Round Midnight, and John Coltrane’s Impressions. Mabern’s high-stepping To Wane is the only piece that Montgomery hadn’t previously recorded. He tears through it like he’d been playing it for years. Resonance has done their usual superb job of presenting the music in context, with period photos, an interview with the still-active Harold Mabern, an interview with guitarist Russell Malone, and essays about Montgomery and the band’s appearance in France. Recorded by the Office de Radio-diffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF), the sound quality is excellent, with a real “you are there” feeling. Montgomery, the studio perfectionist, was much more at home on stage, playing for an audience, and he doesn’t disappoint here. The French crowd loved the show, as revealed by its enthusiastic applause, and you’ll love it too. Absolutely recommended.
Resonance HCD-2032; Wes Montgomery (g) Harold Mabern (p) Arthur Harper (b) Jimmy Lovelace (d) Johnny Griffin (ts on *); Paris, France, March 27, 1965; Disc 1 (44:29): Four on Six/ Impressions/ The Girl Next Door/ Here’s That Rainy Day/ Jingles. Disc 2 (55:23): To Wane/ Full House*/ ‘Round Midnight*/ Medley: Blue ‘n Boogie, West Coast Blues*/ Twisted Blues. www.resonancerecords.org