Wes Montgomery- California Dreaming

Still celebrating Black History month on the blog and here is a record from one of the greatest jazz guitarists ever.  I can not remember if i got a 20% discount on this or not.  That point is irrelevant as I would have paid the full $8 for this no problem. I took a week off from writing the blog and I trying to catch up (despite being still being a good two and a half months ahead).  I think the idea is that the sooner I write this month’s posts, the sooner I can listen to next months records, and so on.  Furthermore, the more records I can clear, the sooner I can buy more records (note: although purchasing has slowed down, I am still buying records).

So here we are with one of the missing links of guitar, the man whose technique influenced the guitarists you love today (or at least 20 years ago): Wes Montgomery.  Along with Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, Montgomery is a seminal figure.  His early work with his two brothers, Buddy and Monk, leaned towards hard bop.  In his later career, he moved more into pop work which led to a larger audience.  His premature death from a heart attack shocked the music world.  I have had his records on this blog before so I am basically leaving this at that. I probably did mention this lat post, (which you can link here) but I will repeat it.  Montgomery’s trademark sound came from using his thumb as a pick, a technique he developed early on to quiet his guitar from disturbing his neighbors.

This record, released on Verve in 1966, was from that pop oriented period, which led to mixed reviews from some purists.  It was however, a commercial success, reaching # 1 on the Jazz charts as well as #4 on the R&B.  With arrangements  by Don Sebesky as well as Herbie Hancock on piano, I felt that this was a pretty good little record, complete with jazz infused pop standards as well as one of Montgomery’s better tunes (re-worked from his first album)”Mr Walker”.  Also appearing on the record, is “Sunny”, “More,More, Amor”, “Green Peppers”, and “Without You”.

However, I bought this for the title track so here we are with this, the Mamas and Pappa’s hit, as our sample.

Great little record.  Satisfactory.

Django Reinhart- Vol IV

For a dollar, this is a major find.  There is no greater guitarist who has influenced generations of players than the Gypsy King, Belgian-born, French-bred Django Reinhardt (1910-1953).  He wrote the book on hot jazz guitar.  He was also the first significant jazz musician to come out of Europe.  Probably still the most significant, for that matter.

And the most amazing part is that he did it with two fingers.  Due to injury from a fire in his late teens I believe, Reinhardt lost the use of his fourth and fifth finger. As a result, he re-taught himself how to play guitar with his thumb and two good digits.

Influenced by the emerging jazz sound from America, Reinhardt met violinist Stephane Grapelli who shared similar musical interests.  The two formed a quintet that played at Paris’ Hot Club from 1934 until the outbreak of WWII in 1939.  Reinhardt’s brother Joseph was also a member of this group.

Towards the end of his life, Reinhardt experimented with electric guitar and bebop.  A brain hemorrhage claimed his life in 1953.  Maybe not so young for jazz musicians of the last century, but none the less, he was 43. If not for the hemorrhage, he probably would have died of lung cancer, given all the pictures I have seen of him smoking.

The tributes to Reinhardt have been many. Although initially, jazz aficionados in the US were slow to accept the guitar as a jazz instrument, he is widely regarded as influential to the genre as Duke Ellington or Louie Armstrong. Many guitarists, too numerous to name here, have counted him as an influence.  Furthermore, guitarists such as Jerry Garcia and Tommi Iommi, both of who lost digits on their fretting hand, were influenced by Reinhardt’s handicap.  Perhaps the most amusing tribute came from Woody Allen in his movie Sweet and Lowdown. In the film, Sean Penn plays a jazz guitarist who is idolizes Reinhardt.

This is a collection of songs recorded in Paris between 1934 and 1935 with Grapelli and the quintet.  Reinhardt recorded over 900 songs during his short career.  As the title would suggest, this is the forth volume of a posthumous series.  Pretty decent collection.  As with most of the recordings, Grapelli’s virtuoso violin playing is overshadowed by the guitar. But a good collection, none the less, and it served its purpose quite well, getting an opportunity to post Reinhardt to this blog.

DJango’s discography

For a sample, I went with “Tiger Rag” as I have posted it already on this site by different artists.

Great record.  Satisfactory.  Again, I wanted to do more with this post but was sadly limited by time.

Wes Montgomery- Willow Weep for Me

61G21NrMDsLThis was another $5 pickup from the record convention.  I really like Wes Montgomery.  Some people think that Stevie Ray Vaughn ripped off octaves from Jimi Hendrix when truthfully, both men were influenced by Montgomery.  If they were alive, I believe the would tell you as much.wes_montgomery

Wes Montgomery was not the father of jazz electric guitar (this is generally credited to Charlie Christian) but , man, was he one of the greats.  Himself influenced by Christian, he was hired by Lionel Hampton based on his ability to play Christian’s solos note by note, mostly by ear. From here, Montgomery led his own small band and made prolific recordings pushing the guitar to the forefront of jazz.

Wes’s Official Site

Montgomery’s mellow sound came from his hands.  He did not use a pick but rather, his thumb.  This style was developed so as not to disturb his neighbors when he started playing.  Montgomery would pass young in 1968 from a heart attack.  He was 45. He died in the same place he was born, Indianapolis, Indiana.DSCN4277

This album was released posthumously in 1969.  It was recorded during sessions for Smokin at the Half Note in 1965.      Montgomery is backed by Jimmy Cobb on drums, Wynton Kelly on piano and Paul Chambers on bass.  The album won a Grammy in 1970 for best jazz instrumental album.  The album itself is quite good and showcases Montgomery’s amazing guitar.wes-01

For a sample, I went with the John Coltrane tune “Impressions”.MI0001388892

Top Rated.

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