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DownloadWhen guitarist Jeff Healey passed away in March 2008, he left behind Mess of Blues, a posthumously-released album that was a love letter to his fans and to blues music. The album garnered the late talent a well-deserved truckload of awards, and served as a fitting testament to his enormous skills as a blues guitarist. It left his fans around the world wanting just a little bit more, though, a desire fulfilled by Songs From The Road.
Assembled by bassist Alec Fraser - Healey's musical foil for his blues and his jazz projects alike for over a decade - Songs From The Road offers up eleven inspired and energetic performances of vintage pop, rock, and blues music taken from three different concerts. The bulk of the set, five songs, are from Healey's August 2006 appearance at the notable Notodden Blues Festival in Norway. Four songs were taken from a May 2007 show in London, while a pair are courtesy of Jeff Healey's Roadhouse club in Toronto, circa November 2007.
The opening track on Healey's Songs From The Road, the Mark Knopfler guitar showcase "I Think I Love You Too Much" is a perfect example of the guitarist's fluid and highly flexible six-string skills. Taken from the London 2007 performance, as his road-tested band lays down a bit of a funky groove, Healey slathers on wave after wave of taut, pointed, emotional solos that hit the listener in the heart as well as the ears. His deep-register vocals evincing no little soul, Healey steals the rug out from beneath Knopfler's original version and makes the song entirely his own.
And that, of course, is the story of Songs From The Road. Given his immense talents and sharp ear for arrangement, put Healey on stage and he'll steal anybody's song for himself and, in most instances, perform it better than whoever he borrowed the tune from. Songs From The Road doesn't include a single original Jeff Healey song and yet, after hearing him pour out his heart and soul on John Hiatt's "Angel Eyes" (an important early hit for Healey), you'd swear that he wrote the song in the first place.
Healey delivers both the familiar and the unexpected on the performances documented by Songs From The Road. For every popish song like the beautiful aforementioned "Angel Eyes," which benefits from Healey's balanced and wistful fretwork, there is a raucous romp through a blues standard, such as the band's well-timed demolishing of Willie Dixon's Chicago blues standard "I'm Ready."
Healey dips into the deep well of the Beatles catalog twice, the first being an incredible cover of the band's "Come Together." Although Dan Noordermeer's vocals fall short of the Fab Four's, the band capture the song's dark funk while Healey slaps on a fresh coat of blues guitar with a couple of short, sharp solos. George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" retains the original's melancholy vibe while adding a layer of soul-blues to the song. The Notodden audience is into both familiar covers, singing along on the choruses.
The crossroads where blues music and rock & roll collide is where Healey has always excelled, however, and several of the more houserockin' tunes on Songs From The Road revel in his role as a veritable blues-rock dynamo. Cream's classic "White Room," sung here by bassist Fraser, in nearly spot-on with the original, the vocals cleverly mimicking Jack Bruce's, while Healey's guitar embroiders upon Clapton's original musical blueprint.
The Allman Brothers' favorite "Whipping Post" literally explodes off the disc, sung here by keyboardist Dave Murphy with a strained, pained pulse. Murphy's keyboard riffs lead the band into a steady rhythm, but it is Healey's pyrotechnics that steal the show. Amidst the drumbeats and the key-pounding, Healey's guitar hits your ears like an epiphany.
Fellow Canadian guitarist and blues fan Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive, The Guess Who), drops by the Toronto performance to guest on a blistering rendition of the Willie Dixon-penned Muddy Waters' classic "Hoochie Coochie Man." The credits don't list it, but it sure sounds like somebody's blastin' a mean harp line behind Healey's ruff-n-ready vocals. This version is stretched into an energetic and electrifying blues jam, fueled by Healey and Bachman's swaggering fretwork.
Given the very nature of Songs From The Road, with eleven cuts taken from three different performances, one might accuse producer and band member Alec Fraser of cherry-picking Healey's performances for the album. That may be so, but the truth is that Healey was just so damn talented, and felt so much at home on stage, that Fraser's dilemma probably wasn't finding enough great performances to include on the album, but rather which great songs to exclude.
I don't know for certain if there's much left in the Jeff Healey vault that will result in future album releases or not. If the cupboard has, indeed, been cleaned out, then Songs From The Road will stand as a fitting swansong for the guitarist, an illustration of Healey's love of music and performing. Healey seldom disappointed, and neither will Songs From The Road. (Ruf Records, released September 8, 2009)
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino (born February 26, 1928) is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter.Antoine was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Domino first attracted national attention with "The Fat Man" in 1949 on Imperial Records. This song is an early rock and roll record, featuring a rolling piano and Domino doing "wah-wah" vocalizing over a fat back beat. It sold over a million copies and is widely regarded as the first rock and roll record to do so.
Fats Domino then released a series of hit songs with producer and co-writer Dave Bartholomew, saxophonists Herbert Hardesty and Alvin "Red" Tyler and drummer Earl Palmer. Other notable and long-standing musicians in Domino's band were saxophonists Reggie Houston, Lee Allen, and Fred Kemp, who was also Domino's trusted bandleader. Domino finally crossed into the pop mainstream with "Ain't That a Shame" (1955), which hit the Top Ten, though Pat Boone characteristically hit #1 with a milder cover of the song that received wider radio airplay in a racially-segregated era. Domino would eventually release 37 Top 40 singles, "Whole Lotta Loving" and "Blue Monday" among them.
Domino's first album, Carry on Rockin', was released under the Imperial imprint, #9009, in November 1955 and subsequently reissued as Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino in 1956.[1] Combining a number of his hits along with some tracks which had not yet been released as singles,[1] the album went on under its alternate title to reach #17 on the "Pop Albums" chart.[2]
His 1956 up-tempo version of the 1940 Vincent Rose, Al Lewis & Larry Stock song, "Blueberry Hill" reached #2 in the Top 40, was #1 on the R&B charts for 11 weeks, and was his biggest hit. "Blueberry Hill" sold more than 5 million copies worldwide in 1956-57. The song had earlier been recorded by Gene Autry, and Louis Armstrong among many others. He had further hit singles between 1956 and 1959, including "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" (Pop #14), "I'm Walkin'" (Pop #4), "Valley of Tears" (Pop #8), "It's You I Love" (Pop #6), "Whole Lotta Loving" (Pop #6), "I Want to Walk You Home" (Pop #8), and "Be My Guest" (Pop #8).
Fats appeared in two films released in 1956: Shake, Rattle & Rock![3] and The Girl Can't Help It.[4] On December 18, 1957, Domino's hit "The Big Beat" was featured on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
Domino continued to have a steady series of hits for Imperial through early 1962, including "Walkin' to New Orleans" (1960) (Pop #6) co-written by Bobby Charles and "My Girl Josephine" (Pop #14) from the same year. After Imperial Records was sold to outside interests in early 1963, Domino left the label: "I stuck with them until they sold out", he claimed in 1979. In all, Domino recorded over 60 singles for the label, placing 40 songs in the top 10 on the R&B charts, and scoring 11 top 10 singles on the pop charts. Twenty-two of Domino's Imperial singles were double-sided hits.
Domino moved to ABC-Paramount Records in 1963. The label dictated that he would record in Nashville rather than New Orleans. He was assigned a new producer (Felton Jarvis) and a new arranger (Bill Justis); Domino's long-term collaboration with producer/arranger/frequent co-writer Dave Bartholomew, who oversaw virtually all of his Imperial hits, was seemingly at an end.
Jarvis and Justis changed the Domino sound somewhat, notably by adding the backing of a countrypolitan-style vocal chorus to most of his new recordings. Perhaps as a result of this tinkering with an established formula, Domino's chart career was drastically curtailed. He released 11 singles for ABC-Paramount, but only had one top 40 entry with "Red Sails In The Sunset" (1963). By the end of 1964 the British Invasion had changed the tastes of the record-buying public, and Domino's chart run was over.
Despite the lack of chart success, Domino continued to record steadily until about 1970, leaving ABC-Paramount in mid-1965 and recording for a variety of other labels (Mercury, Bartholomew's small Broadmoor label reuniting with Dave Bartholomew along the way, and Reprise). He also continued as a popular live act for several decades.
In the 1980s, Domino decided he would no longer leave New Orleans, having a comfortable income from royalties and a dislike for touring, and claiming he could not get any food that he liked any place else. His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and an invitation to perform at the White House failed to persuade Domino to make an exception to this policy.
Fats Domino was persuaded to perform out of town periodically for Dianna Chenevert, agent, founder and president of New Orleans based Omni Attractions, during the 1980s and early 1990s. Most of these engagements were in and around New Orleans, but also included a concert in Texas at West End Market Place in downtown Dallas on October 24, 1986.
On October 12, 1983 USA Today reported that Domino was included in Chenevert's "Southern Stars" promotional poster for the agency (along with historically preserving childhood photographs of other famous living musicians from New Orleans and Louisiana on it).[5] Fats provided a photograph of his first recording session, which was the only one he had left from his childhood. Domino autographed these posters, whose recipients included USA Today's Gannett president Al Newharth, and Peter Morton founder of the Hard Rock Cafe. Times-Picayune columnist Betty Guillaud noted on September 30, 1987 that Domino also provided Chenevert with an autographed pair of his shoes[6] (and signed a black grand piano lid) for the Hard Rock location in New Orleans.
Domino lived in a mansion in a predominantly working-class Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood, where he was a familiar sight in his bright pink Cadillac automobile. He makes yearly appearances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and other local events. Domino was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #25 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."[7]
When Hurricane Katrina was approaching New Orleans in August 2005, Dianna Chenevert encouraged Fats to evacuate, but he chose to stay at home with his family, partly because of his wife's poor health. Unfortunately his house was in an area that was heavily flooded. Chenevert e-mailed writers at the Times Picayune newspaper and the Coast Guard with the Dominos' location.
Someone thought Fats was dead, and spray-painted a message on his home, "RIP Fats. You will be missed", which was shown in news photos. On September 1, Domino's agent, Al Embry, announced that he had not heard from the musician since before the hurricane had struck.
Later that day, CNN reported that Domino was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. Embry confirmed that Domino and his family had been rescued. The Domino family was then taken to a Baton Rouge shelter, after which they were picked up by JaMarcus Russell, the starting quarterback of the Louisiana State University football team, and Fats' granddaughter's boyfriend. He let the Dominos stay in his apartment. The Washington Post reported that on September 2, they had left Russell's apartment after sleeping three nights on the couch. "We've lost everything", Domino said, according to the Post.[8]
By January 2006, work to gut and repair Domino's home and office had begun. For the meantime, the Domino family is residing in Harvey, Louisiana.
Chenevert replaced the Southern Stars poster Fats Domino lost in Katrina and President George W. Bush also made a personal visit and replaced the medal that President Bill Clinton had previously awarded Fats.
Domino was the first artist to be announced as scheduled to perform at the 2006 Jazz & Heritage Festival. However, he was too ill to perform when scheduled and was only able to offer the audience an on-stage greeting. Domino also released an album Alive and Kickin' in early 2006 to benefit the Tipitina's Foundation, which supports indigent local musicians. The title song was recorded after Katrina, but most of the cuts were from unreleased sessions in the 1990s.
On January 12, 2007, Domino was honored with OffBeat magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Best of the Beat Awards held at House of Blues in New Orleans. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declared the day "Fats Domino Day in New Orleans" and presented Fats Domino with a signed declaration. OffBeat publisher Jan Ramsey and WWL-TV's Eric Paulsen presented Fats Domino with the Lifetime Achievement Award. An all-star musical tribute followed with an introduction by the legendary producer Cosimo Matassa. The Lil' Band O' Gold rhythm section, Warren Storm, Kenny Bill Stinson, David Egan and C.C. Adcock, not only anchored the band, but each contributed lead vocals, swamp pop legend Warren Storm leading off with "Let the Four Winds Blow" and "The Prisoner Song", which he proudly introduced by saying, "Fats Domino recorded this in 1958.. and so did I." The horn section included Lil' Band O' Gold's Dickie Landry, the Iguanas' Derek Huston, and long-time Domino horn men Roger Lewis, Elliot "Stackman" Callier and Herb Hardesty. They were joined by Jon Cleary (who also played guitar in the rhythm section), Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, Irma Thomas, George Porter, Jr. (who, naturally, came up with a funky arrangement for "You Keep On Knocking"), Art Neville, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, who wrote and debuted a song in tribute of Domino for the occasion. Though Domino didn't perform, those near him recall him playing air piano and singing along to his own songs.
Fats Domino returned to stage on May 19, 2007, at Tipitina's at New Orleans, performing to a full house. A foundation has been formed and a show is being planned for Domino and the restoration of his home, where he intends to return someday. "I like it down there" he said in a February, 2006 CBS News interview.[9]
In September 2007, Domino was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame in Ferriday. In December 2007, Fats Domino was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
In May 2009, Domino made an unexpected appearance for The Domino Effect, a namesake concert aimed at raising funds to help rebuild schools and playgrounds damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
He was acknowledged as an important influence on the music of the 1960s and 1970s by some of the top artists of that era. Paul McCartney reportedly wrote the Beatles song "Lady Madonna" in an emulation of Domino's style, combining it with a nod to Humphrey Lyttelton's 1956 hit "Bad Penny Blues", a record which Joe Meek had engineered.[citation needed] Domino did manage to return to the "Hot 100" charts one final time in 1968—with his own recording of "Lady Madonna". That recording, as well as covers of two other Beatles songs, appeared on his Reprise LP Fats Is Back, produced by Richard Perry and recorded by a band which included New Orleans piano player James Booker; Domino played piano only on one track, "I'm Ready".[10][11] Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney later recorded Fats Domino songs. Domino's rhythm, accentuating the offbeat as in the song "Be My Guest", was an influence on ska music.[12]
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As for repertoire, Harnoncourt offers some real novelties in the form of three dances by Joseph Lanner and the original version of Johann Strauss I's Radetzky March (thus saving the more traditional edition for the encore, and allowing us to hear the piece played without the equally traditional rhythmic clapping of the audience). The Strauss II numbers range from the familiar (The Blue Danube and Morning Papers Waltzes) to the wonderfully different (the Electro-Magnetic and Lucifer Polkas, and the overture to the operetta A Night in Venice--also a notable feature of Harnoncourt's Berlin Strauss disc). Many of the recent New Year's concerts have been memorable (especially those conducted by Carlos Kleiber), but this one stands out from the conspicuously charming crowd. The stunning live recorded sound doesn't hurt either. You'd have to be deaf not be entranced by this enchanting concert. Don't miss it.
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Paul Whiteman felvételei az 1926-os évektől kezdődően vettek nagy fordulatot, amikor feltalálták a szén mikrofont. Ettől kezdve a lemezeik sokkal szebben szóltak, mint a tölcséres hangrögzítés korában, és értelemszerűen a felvétel technikája is alaposan megváltozott. Ezek a hatások a korabeli és az azt követő évektől erőteljesen hallatszottak a lemezeiken és természetesen más felvételeken is. Az óriási létszámú zenekarával mindenféle műfajt eljátszott, ami egy ekkora létszámmal szereplő jazz zenekartól elvárható volt. A komolyzenei alkotásoktól, a swingen keresztül, a klasszikus fúvós zenéig, mindent eljátszottak. Eklatáns példa erre az album végén hallható Beer Barrel Polka, amit 1926-ban New Yorkban a Victor hanglemezgyárban vettek fel. Ez azért is érdekes mert szenzációs az a hatás és dinamika, ami ebben a felvételben található.... Ugye 1926-ot írunk, ne felejtsük el! Természetes tegyük hozzá még azt is, hogy ezért minőség javulásért főként a mai digitális lehetőségek adda varázslatokat kel úgymond felelőssé tenni. De természetesen a többi felvétel is bizony kiállja a próbát. A felvételek a saját gyűjteményem egy kis szeletkéje ebből a kórból
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Montgomery was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He came from a musical family; his brothers, Monk (string bass and electric bass) and Buddy (vibraphone and piano), were jazz performers. The brothers released a number of albums together as the Montgomery Brothers. Although he was not skilled at reading music, he could learn complex melodies and riffs by ear. Montgomery started learning guitar relatively late, at the age of 19, by listening to and learning the recordings of his idol, guitarist Charlie Christian. He was known for his ability to play Christian solos note for note and was hired by Lionel Hampton for this ability.[1]
Many fellow jazz guitarists consider Montgomery the greatest influence among modern jazz guitarists. Pat Metheny has praised him greatly, saying "I learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery's Smokin' At The Half Note." In addition, Metheny stated to the New York Times in 2005 that the solo on "If You Could See Me Now," from this album is his favorite of all time. Joe Pass indicated that, "To me, there have been only three real innovators on the guitar--Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt," as cited in James Sallis's The Guitar Players and in his Hot Licks instructional video. In addition, George Benson attests, "Wes had a corn on his thumb, which gave his sound that point. He would get one sound for the soft parts, and then that point by using the corn. That's why no one will ever match Wes. And his thumb was double-jointed. He could bend it all the way back to touch his wrist, which he would do to shock people." Kenny Burrell states, "It was an honor that he called me as his second guitarist for a session." In addition, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, David Becker, Joe Diorio and Pat Martino have pointed to him numerous times as a great influence.
Following the early work of swing/pre-bop guitarist Charlie Christian and gypsy-jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Wes joined Tal Farlow, Johnny Smith, Jimmy Raney, and Barney Kessell to put guitar on the map as a bebop / post-bop instrument. While these men generally curtailed their own output in the 1960s, Montgomery recorded prolifically during this period, lending guitar to the same tunes contemporaries like John Coltrane and Miles Davis were recording. While many Jazz players are regarded as virtuosos, Montgomery had a very wide influence on other virtuosos who followed him, and in the respect he earned from his contemporaries. To many, Montgomery's playing defines jazz guitar and the sound that learners try to emulate.
Dave Miele and Dan Bielowsky claim, "Wes Montgomery was certainly one of the most influential and most musical guitarists to ever pick up the instrument....He took the use of octaves and chord melodies to a greater level than any other guitarist, before or since....Montgomery is undoubtedly one of the most important voices in Jazz guitar that has ever lived-or most likely ever will live. A discussion of Jazz guitar is simply not thorough if it does not touch upon Wes Montgomery." (Jazz Improv Magazine, vol 7 # 4 p. 26).
"Listening to [Wes Montgomery's] solos is like teetering at the edge of a brink," composer-conductor Gunther Schuller asserted, as quoted by Jazz & Pop critic Will Smith. "His playing at its peak becomes unbearably exciting, to the point where one feels unable to muster sufficient physical endurance to outlast it." Wes received many awards and accolades: Nominated for two Grammy Awards for Bumpin', 1965; received Grammy Award for Goin' Out of My Head as Best Instrumental Jazz Performance by Large Group or Soloist with Large Group, 1966; nominated for Grammy Awards for "Eleanor Rigby" and Down Here on the Ground, 1968; nominated for Grammy Award for Willow, Weep for Me, 1969. Wes' second album, The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, earned him Down Beat magazine's "New Star" award in 1960. In addition, he won the Down Beat Critic's Poll award for best Jazz guitarist in 1960, '61, '62,'63, '66, and 1967. (NPR.org, September 26, 2007).
Montgomery toured with Lionel Hampton early in his career, however the combined stress of touring and being away from family brought him back home to Indianapolis. To support his family of eight, Montgomery worked in a factory from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, then performed in local clubs from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. Cannonball Adderley heard Montgomery in an Indianapolis club and was floored. The next morning, he called record producer Orrin Keepnews, who signed Montgomery to a recording contract with Riverside Records. Adderly later recorded with Montgomery on his Pollwinners album. Montgomery recorded with his brothers and various other group members, including the Wynton Kelly Trio which previously backed up Miles Davis.
John Coltrane asked Montgomery to join his band after a jam session, but Montgomery continued to lead his own band. Boss Guitar seems to refer to his status as a guitar-playing bandleader. He also made contributions to recordings by Jimmy Smith. Jazz purists relish Montgomery's recordings up through 1965, and sometimes complain that he abandoned hard-bop for pop jazz towards the end of his career, although it is arguable that he gained a wider audience for his earlier work with his soft jazz from 1965-1968. During this late period he would occasionally turn out original material alongside jazzy orchestral arrangements of pop songs. In sum, this late period earned him considerable wealth and created a platform for a new audience to hear his earlier recordings.
Wes Montgomery died of a heart attack on June 15, 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.[2]
According to Jazz guitar educator Wolf Marshall, Montgomery often approached solos in a three-tiered manner: He would begin a repeating progression with single note lines, derived from scales or modes; after a fitting number of sequences, he would play octaves for a few more sequences, finally culminating with block chords.[1]
The use of octaves (playing the same note on two strings one octave apart) for which he is widely known, became known as "the Naptown Sound". Montgomery was also an excellent "single-line" or "single-note" player, and was very influential in the use of block chords in his solos. His playing on the jazz standard Lover Man is an example of his single-note, octave- and block-chord soloing. ("Lover Man" appears on the Fantasy album The Montgomery Brothers.)
Instead of using a guitar pick, Montgomery plucked the strings with the fleshy part of his thumb, using downstrokes for single notes and a combination of upstrokes and downstrokes for chords and octaves. Montgomery developed this technique not for technical reasons but for his wife. He worked long hours as a machinist before his career began and practiced late at night while his wife was sleeping. He played with his thumb so that his playing would be softer and not wake her. This technique enabled him to get a mellow, expressive tone from his guitar. George Benson, in the liner notes of the Ultimate Wes Montgomery album, wrote, "Wes had a corn on his thumb, which gave his sound that point. He would get one sound for the soft parts, and then that point by using the corn. That's why no one will ever match Wes. And his thumb was double-jointed. He could bend it all the way back to touch his wrist, which he would do to shock people."
He generally played a Gibson L-5CES guitar. In his later years he played one of two guitars that Gibson custom made for him. In his early years, Montgomery had a tube amp, often a Fender. In his later years, he played a solid state Standel amp with a 15-inch (380 mm) speaker.
Montgomery toured with vibraphonist Lionel Hampton's orchestra from July 1948 to January 1950, and can be heard on recordings from this period. Montgomery then returned to Indianapolis and did not record again until December 1957 (save for one session in 1955), when he took part in a session that included his brothers Monk and Buddy, as well as trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who made his recording debut with Montgomery. Most of the recordings made by Montgomery and his brothers from 1957-1959 were released on the Pacific Jazz label.[1]
From 1959 Montgomery was signed to the Riverside Records label, and remained there until late 1963, just before the company went bankrupt. The recordings made during this period are widely considered by fans and jazz historians to be Montgomery's best and most influential. Two sessions in January 1960 yielded The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, which was recorded as a quartet with pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. The album featured two of Montgomery's most well-known compositions, "Four on Six" and "West Coast Blues."
Almost all of Montgomery's output on Riverside featured the guitarist in a small group setting, usually a trio (and always with his organist from his Indianapolis days, Melvin Rhyne), a quartet, or a quintet, playing a mixture of hard-swinging uptempo jazz numbers and quiet ballads. The lone exception, Fusion, telegraphed his post-Riverside career: it was his first recording with a string ensemble. One of the more memorable sets involved a co-leadership collaboration with vibraphone virtuoso and Modern Jazz Quartet mainstay Milt Jackson, whom producer Orrin Keepnews has said insisted on a collaboration with Montgomery as a condition for signing a solo recording deal with Riverside.
In 1964 Montgomery moved to Verve Records for two years. His stay at Verve yielded a number of albums where he was featured with an orchestra---brass-dominated (Movin' Wes), string-oriented (Bumpin', Tequila), or a mix of both (Goin' Out of My Head, California Dreamin').[1]
But he never abandoned jazz entirely in the Verve years, whether with a few selections on most of the Verve albums, or by such sets as 1965s Smokin' at the Half Note (showcasing two memorable appearances at the famous New York City club with the Wynton Kelly Trio) or a pair of albums he made with jazz organ titan Jimmy Smith, The Dynamic Duo and The Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes). He continued to play outstanding live jazz guitar, as evidenced by surviving audio and video recordings from his 1965 tour of Europe.
As a considered founder of the Smooth Jazz school the album "Bumpin'" (1965) represents a model from which many modern recording are derived: as the liner notes to the CD remaster issue note, after being unable to produce the desired results by the guitarist and orchestra playing together, arranger Don Sebesky suggested Montgomery record the chosen music with his chosen small group, after which Sebesky would write the orchestral charts based on what Montgomery's group had produced. Longer clips from all of the tracks on "Bumpin'" and other Wes Montgomery albums are found on Verve Records website.
By the time Montgomery released his first album for A&M Records, he had seemingly abandoned jazz entirely for the more lucrative pop market, though as in his Verve period he played his customary jazz in small group settings in live appearances. The three albums released during his A&M period (1967-68) feature orchestral renditions of famous pop songs ("Scarborough Fair," "I Say a Little Prayer for You," "Eleanor Rigby," etc.) with Montgomery reciting the melody with his guitar. These records were the most commercially successful of his career, but featured the least jazz improvisation.[citation needed]
He didn't have very long to live to enjoy his commercial success, however; in 1968, he woke one morning, remarked to his wife that he "Didn't feel very well," and minutes later collapsed, dying of a heart attack within minutes. Montgomery's home town of Indianapolis has named a park in his honor. He is the grandfather of actor Anthony Montgomery.[1]
Wes and Buddy, along with Richard Crabtree and Benny Barth, formed "The Mastersounds", and recorded "Jazz Showcase Introducing The Mastersounds" and a jazz version of "The King and I", both released by World Pacific Records. They first played together at Seattle, particularly working up the set for "The King and I", at a club called Dave's Fifth Avenue. The composers were so impressed by the jazz version of "The King & I" that they pre-released the score of "Flower Drum Song" to the quartet to allow simultaneous release with the sound track album.
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Ez az album szinte zenei különlegességnek is tekinthető, mivel ezt a játékstílust és előadási módot szinte alig múvelték a zongoristák. Ebből a lemezből sajnos nagyon régóta nem fellelhető egy jó minőségű darab. így tehát maradt egy elég rossz, de használható LP . Ennek a javított változata hallható a letöltés után, vagy a következő linken.
| RUSS CONWAY British Pianist 1925 - 2000 Chart career 1957-1962
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