In the liner notes of the 44 page booklet, producer and musical sleuth Zev Feldman correctly calls this 2 disc cache of previously unreleased vintage Wes Montgomery recordings the “Dead Sea Scrolls of Jazz” and he’s pretty spot on. There is a story within the notes on how the these studio and “live” recordings came about, along with chats with the likes of George Benson and John Scofield, but the gist is that we can thank both Zev and Indianapolis pianist and arranger Carroll DeCamp for preserving and bringing these wonderful sessions of 50s Wes Montgomery to light.
Culled from a variety of sessions (and the recording quality is pretty impressive for the time), this collection is arguably the best set of Wes Montgomery historical recordings that Resonance has yet to release, and that’s really saying something. There are no exact recording dates, although it is known that they all took place back home in Indiana. The formats are either a) piano quartets with piano, bass, guitar and drums, b) An organ trio c) sextet with tenor sax and trombone or d) a classic trio with guitar, piano and bass. The sidemen include pianists John Bunch, Carl Perkins and Buddy Montgomery; Melvin Rhyne is on the organ, the drummers include Sonny Johnson and Paul Parker, Monk Montgomery or Mingo Jones play bass, and David Baker’s trombone with David Young’s tenor fill out the mixing and matching.
Let’s just start off with why this is essential: how about a 1959 Wes grooving on Miles Davis’ “So What”? Interested yet? It gets better as he also sizzles on a hip “Tune Up” bounces on “West Coast Blues” and gives a drop dead gorgeous “’Round Midnight.” This, is as Bogie would say, is what dreams are made of.
With Mel Rhyne on organ, Wes relaxes and stretches out on “Jingles” while in the sextet ensemble croons on “Whisper Not” and bops to Horace Silver’s “Ecaroh.” The intimate Nat Cole-styled trio is sublimely swinging on “Four” and a soulful “Opus De Funk” with the team stretching out on “Summertime” “The Song Is You” and “It’s You Or No One.” There is also a drummer on the mercurial take of “Stomping At The Savoy” even though the take is billed as a trio. Nevertheless, this relaxed and casual atmosphere seems like the perfect atmosphere for Montgomery, as he sounds inspired in such an informal jamming atmosphere. The importance of these sessions cannot be under-estimated, as this material can be imbibed and enjoyed on a plethora of levels, either for guitar freaks looking for new transcriptions or just regular jazz fans wanting to listen to a Master of his craft.
As one who votes in the Downbeat Critic’s Poll, Resonance Records deserves first, second and third place for Best Label. Get this set and learn why.