In jazz, guitar is an instrument I haven’t dived into properly. I’ve been enjoying Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall and so on through the years, but haven’t got many albums with a guitarist as a leader. One of the very best jazz guitarists was of course Wes Montgomery and I’m a rookie when it comes to him. Why? Well, I haven’t focused on jazz guitarists a lot and I have for some reason neglected his work. Shame on me. He was brilliant. This album is brilliant. Looking to try and find more of his stuff for sure. He was such a smooth player. Had a wonderful tone on the guitar and he played with so much lyricism and his technique was second to none.
This session features Montgomery together with Mel Rhyne on organ and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Rhyne is a cat who I haven’t heard before. He plays some great stuff on this one. Jimmy Cobb is always great, with his tight playing, pinging away on the ride cymbal in a beautiful way.
Impossible to pick favorite tunes cause each time you listen to this album you end up with different favorites. Stellar music all the way through.
I love this trio format with only guitar, organ and drums. It creates a sparse vibe and it really highlights Montgomerys mastery. Highly recommended.
Do you have some favorite Montgomery titles you’d like to share?
New titles coming in a steady flow now, stay tuned.