Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:03
Size: 101,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:26)  1. Airegin
(5:23)  2. D-Natural Blues
(4:44)  3. Polka Dots And Moonbeams
(6:15)  4. Four On Six
(7:25)  5. West Coast Blues
(4:54)  6. In Your Own Sweet Way
(4:33)  7. Mister Walker
(6:20)  8. Gone With The Wind

Ask a dozen jazz guitar fans for their all-time top guitar albums and The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery is likely to be high on every list. If it isn't, chances are Montgomery's live set Full House (Riverside, 1962), recorded two years later, will be. With these discs, Indianapolis-born Montgomery (1923-68) gave the guitar its biggest quantum leaps forward, both stylistically and in terms of listener acceptance, since Charlie Christian in the late 1930s/early 1940s and Johnny Smith in the 1950s. Full House got the 24-bit remastering treatment in 2007 as part of Riverside's Keepnews Collection series, supervised and annotated by label founder/producer Orrin Keepnews. Now The Incredible Jazz Guitar joins it.  Almost entirely self-taught (initially by immersing himself in Christian's recordings with clarinetist Benny Goodman's chamber groups), and unable to read a note of music, by 1959 when he was brought to Keepnews' attention by saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, who'd been gigging in Indianapolis Montgomery had developed a revolutionary new approach to the instrument. His style featured three signature elements: he played with his thumb, never a pick, and he improvised entire choruses using either octaves or pianistic block chords. None of these techniques were unique, but until Montgomery came along no other guitarist had mastered them so completely (let alone combined them) or made them so integral to sound and improvisation. An exception is Smith, whose Moonlight in Vermont (Roulette, 1953) and later albums featured extended passages of block chording as beautiful and fluid as Montgomery's.

The Incredible Jazz Guitar burst onto the US scene in 1960 like a benign hurricane, and it still sounds like a gale almost 50 years later. Over four bluesy originals, the standards "Polka Dots And Moonbeams" and "Gone With The Wind," Dave Brubeck's gorgeous "In Your Own Sweet Way" and a fast-paced reading of Sonny Rollins' "Airegin," Montgomery empathetically accompanied by pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath (then riding high with the Modern Jazz Quartet), and drummer Albert Heath makes the guitar sound like it never had before. It has sounded similar since, of course, thanks to the legion of Montgomery-influenced players, but rarely so close to perfection. In his revealing new extended liner notes, Keepnews, born within a few days of Montgomery and at 85 a fluent anecdotal historian, paints a vivid portrait of Montgomery as a musician and as a private person. He expresses some regret that he was unable to give Montgomery the big mainstream audience he achieved with producer Creed Taylor on Verve and CTI 1964-68 (but is proud that Montgomery's Riverside recordings made no attempt at pop crossover) and some embarrassment over the lack of alternate takes or bonus tracks (the reissued Full House by contrast had both), recalling the many Riverside archive tape boxes he's come across with the original data crossed out and supplanted by something later. 

But he doesn't beat himself up about it, and nor should he. At 43:58 divine minutes, The Incredible Jazz Guitar endures, and will continue to do so.~Chris May http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-incredible-jazz-guitar-of-wes-montgomery-wes-montgomery-riverside-review-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Wes Montgomery: guitar; Tommy Flanagan: piano; Percy Heath: bass; Albert Heath: drums.

The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery

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Judy Wexler - Back to the Garden

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:15
Size: 105,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:00) 1. Get Together
(4:41) 2. Up on the Roof
(4:03) 3. American Tune
(3:25) 4. Big Yellow Taxi
(4:45) 5. The Times They are A'Changin'
(3:28) 6. Since You've Asked
(3:53) 7. For What It's Worth
(3:33) 8. Everybody's Talkin'
(6:10) 9. Forever Young
(5:14) 10. Who Knows Where the Times Goes

A glance at the tracks on this album might make one think that it is a well-selected gathering of '60s message tunes from compilation stalwart, Rhino Records. That not being the case, rest assured that Back to the Garden presents those iconic Pop selections so incredibly re- imagined that what we experience could easily be considered "new selections." Judy Wexler petite in stature, but tremendously talented and agile in artistry and her cadre of LA's best, delivers her finest performance and certainly most ambitious album to date. And, given her track record, via five celebrated albums, Back to the Garden borrowing a 60's adjective is very "heavy."

Though young when most of these tracks hit the airwaves in chaotic times, Wexler dives fully into the familiar melodic and message content. Jeff Colella & Josh Nelson's unique arrangements and the ensemble's performances brilliantly deliver stunningly new perspectives. "Get Together," originally a more Folk-like side, kicks things off slickly and texturally, and portends different things to come. Joni Mitchell's manifesto about urban development, "Big Yellow Taxi" is the funk-quirky killer champion on this album. "Something's Happening Here" has Wexler, Colella, and team going towards deeper, darker-blue imagery than the original. "Everybody's Talkin' " from "Midnight Cowboy," (United Artists, 1969) is taken slower than normal and has Wexler talking beautifully, followed by a slick Hendrik Meurkens' solo (a nod to Toots Thielemans who performed on the soundtrack).

Wexler's awesome vocal talent, dexterity, and expressive flair lavishly wash across the session. While this was Pop fare in the day, hers is not a Pop voice. Rather, she's a hip vocalist whose tune engagement is paramount. That's quite apparent on "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" (with a fine Jay Jennings trumpet solo). It would be so easy for a singer to "re-sing" this material. Wexler doesn't. She and the crew have re- ignited it, lending new reflections on Pop gospels. Back to the Garden is quite a recording. It is an accomplishment and truly an aural "Garden of Earthly Delights."~ Nicholas F.Mondello https://www.allaboutjazz.com/back-to-the-garden-judy-wexler-jewel-city-jazz

Personnel: Judy Wexler: voice / vocals; Jeff Colella: piano; Larry Koonse: guitar; Gabe Davis: bass, acoustic; Steve Hass: drums; Bob Thiele, Jr,: guitar, electric; Erin Bentlage: voice / vocals; Danny Janklow: saxophone; Jay Jennings: trumpet; Hendrik Meurkens: harmonica; Sara Caswell: violin; Joel Pargman: violin; Carrie Kennedy: violin; rodney wirtz: viola; Stephanie Fife: cello; Talley Sherwood: voice / vocals.

Back to the Garden

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John Sheridan's Dream Band - Get Rhythm In Your Feet

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 69:42
Size: 159.6 MB
Styles: Swing
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[6:07] 1. Stop Look And Listen
[3:56] 2. All The Cats Join In
[3:55] 3. Indian Summer
[6:42] 4. I Love My Baby
[4:04] 5. I Was Doing All Right
[6:42] 6. A Gal In Calico
[3:02] 7. Humpty Dumpty Heart
[3:16] 8. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
[3:24] 9. People Like You And Me
[4:14] 10. I'm In The Mood For Love
[2:52] 11. Get Rhythm In Your Feet
[4:35] 12. A Handful Of Stars
[3:18] 13. You Can't Pull The Wool Over My Eyes
[4:05] 14. My Extraodinary Gal
[3:57] 15. Walkin' By The River
[5:27] 16. The Dixieland Band

"The Dream Band´s third release, Get Rhythm In Your Feet, is on the same high level as the first two, and in some ways is the best of the trio...John Sheridan´s Dream Band looks back towards The Swing Era and the classic groups of that era without directly copying any of them. Mixing together written and jammed ensembles with concise solos and Becky Kilgore´s joyful vocals, the Sheridan Dream Band is carving out its own legacy within the current classic jazz scene." ~ Scott Yanow

John Sheridan - leader, arranger, piano Randy Reinhart - cornet Russ Phillips - trombone Brian Ogilvie - tenor saxophone Ron Hockett - clarinet Reuben Ristrom - guitar Phil Flanigan - bass Ed Metz Jr. - drums Becky Kilgore - vocals

Get Rhythm In Your Feet

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Ella Fitzgerald - The Moment Of Truth: Ella At The Coliseum (Live)

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2025
Time: 41:04
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 94,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:52) 1. The Moment Of Truth (Live At The Coliseum)
(4:33) 2. Don’t Be That Way (Live At The Coliseum)
(4:37) 3. You’ve Changed (Live At The Coliseum)
(4:43) 4. Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love) (Live At The Coliseum)
(5:02) 5. Bye Bye Blackbird (Live At The Coliseum)
(5:43) 6. Alfie (Live At The Coliseum)
(4:41) 7. In A Mellow Tone (Live At The Coliseum)
(3:56) 8. Music To Watch Girls By (Live At The Coliseum)
(4:53) 9. Mack The Knife (Live At The Coliseum)

If someone stated the opinion “man, woman or child, Ella’s the greatest” it might well be dismissed as outrageous press agent hype. But the words were uttered by Bing Crosby, a man who knew a bit about the art of popular singing.

Shy and reticent when interviewed, Ella Fitzgerald morphed into an extrovert the moment she started singing. It’s often been argued that various other female jazz vocalists might have been more subtle, more profound, more dramatic or more seductive, but Ms Fitzgerald was hardly a klutz in any of those departments. And, in every other department, few ever came close.

For example, take scatting. Listening to any vocalist other than Ms Fitzgerald or Louis Armstrong in full, or even partial, scat, raises my feelings of embarrassment for the singer (always with the notable exception of Sarah Vaughan). Yet, when Ella (I can’t keep typing ‘Ms Fitzgerald’) did it, magic happened. Her time, pulse and phrasing were close to miraculous. Graduating from the Swing Era, she out-swung every other singer, ecstatic when surfing a riff with a big band, yet equally at ease as a saloon singer, confiding her emotions with only a lone pianist alongside (ever heard her Decca sides with Ellis Larkins?).

Her sound, which at the beginning of her career was an attractive little girl voice, matured into an instrument for which the adjectives ‘ravishing’ and ‘glorious’ were invented. She had the ability to switch her tone from liquid honey to a throat-ripping rasp within a hemi-demi-semiquaver. Her expressive range across every mood and every tempo remains unmatched. Downhearted or celebratory, she never sounded less than sincere.

Excessive overclaim? Not when you’ve heard this live album recorded on June 29, 1967 at the Oakland Coliseum accompanied by the full Duke Ellington Orchestra with pianist Jimmy Jones substituting for the Duke. Impresario Norman Granz, who shaped Ella’s career, taped the concert and we hear seven selections covering emotions from poignant dejection to unfettered exuberance. You know that phrase ‘on song’? This performance defines it.

After drummer Sam Woodyard splashes every cymbal within reach, she launches her set with Scott and Satterwhite’s up-tempo The Moment of Truth, a brash piece ostensibly written to open Las Vegas acts. Her version overcomes the brashness by stoking the excitement with intense swing, her virtuosity leaving few syllables unembellished.

Edgar Sampson and Mitchell Parrish wrote Don’t Be That Way and Benny Goodman made it famous. Ella decelerates the tempo previously set on the indispensable Ella & Louis Again album she made with Louis Armstrong, and, with superhuman breath control, sustains tones for longer than any normal singer would regard as dangerous. Backed by Duke’s pugnacious brass and a driving backbeat from Woodyard, she weaves fanciful melodic variations. The audience can hardly restrain its applause before the final note.

You’ve Changed, a ballad of lost love by Carl Fischer and Bill Care, was closely associated with Billie Holiday, but Ella assumes possession of the lyric when, over the tight trio harmonies of the Ellington trombone section, she invests the lyric with fresh pathos, expertly controlling her vibrato as she unwraps her luscious contralto register.

In its time, Cole Porter must have horrified puritans with his witty ditty Let’s Do It, possibly the raunchiest of all list songs. Ella seldom sings a written note, recasting the melody over and over again in live performance, risking liberties few other singers would consider, let alone attempt. Her vocal micro-acrobatics on the phrase ‘even baby jellyfish do it’ defy death.

Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon wrote Bye, Bye Blackbird around 1926 and jazz musicians have jammed on it ever since. Ella calls it ‘one of the old tunes’ and, over five minutes of leaning behind the rhythm section’s beat, subjects the melody to an exhaustive workout through every register. She has the facility to divide even a single syllable into multiple parts, assigning to a different note to each. In the third chorus, she starts by scatting over Bob Cranshaw’s supportive bass, then winding up to an uninhibited knockdown and drag-out finale.

As Jimmy Jones caresses the keyboard for a delicate intro to Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s Alfie, Ella can be heard stage-whispering an instruction to the wings: ‘sexy lights here’. The mood is restrained and she produces an intimate ballad sheen to smooth the extremes of the melody’s choppy form (by way of an unexpected detour to You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You). When she sings “I believe in love, Alfie”, we believe her. And we believe in her.

Duke Ellington wrote In A Mellow Tone and Milt Gabler added lyrics making it, in effect, a song about a song. By the second chorus, over the band’s insistent riffs, Ella is immersed in the beat, scatting, slurring, scooping pitch and swinging ferociously reminding us of the Duke’s alto saxophone star, Johnny Hodges (Charlie Parker called him ‘Lily Pons’, at the time a well-known opera singer). She holds onto the final word ‘tone’ for a long time, like someone who’s loath to leave the party.

Eager to demonstrate she was abreast of changing fashion, Ella chooses Music To Watch The Girls Go By, a big number in the 60s written by Sid Ramin, in an arrangement that has her switching rhythms, even interpolating Happy Talk from the long-running musical, ‘South Pacific’.

In 1928, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht wrote Mack The Knife for ‘The Threepenny Opera’. During the 60s, now equipped with lyrics in English, it became a monster hit for both Bobby Darin and Louis Armstrong with Ella following third. Third, maybe, but she embraced Mack and made it her own, graciously adding references to the first two performers (including a witty representation of a Satchmo growl). This version, packed with passion, bounce, regular half-step modulations and the Ellington band in rocking form, prompts Ella to discard any vestige of vocal inhibition and let rip for the concert’s big finale.

So far, so brilliant. But here’s the mystery.

Why did it take 75 years for such artistry to surface? Only recently, we’re told in Will Friedwald’s informative sleeve notes, the tape boxes were discovered languishing in the late Norman Granz’s effects. Why didn’t he release them? Were they forgotten? Did he think they weren’t up to scratch? Or did they simply get lost, lodged invisibly between a couple of Granz’s original Picasso etchings?

Whatever the reason (and it’s unlikely to be lack of quality), we’re grateful that this evidence was found to reinforce Crosby’s belief: “…Ella is the greatest”.https://ukjazznews.com/ella-fitzgerald-the-moment-of-truth-ella-at-the-coliseum/

The Moment Of Truth: Ella At The Coliseum (Live)

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