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5 Great Wes Montgomery Recordings
Jazz Guitarist and Educator David Frackenpohl weighs in on his top 5 Wes Montgomery tracks – and why.
Naptown Blues:
This is an F blues original by Wes with great big band backing (arr. by Oliver Nelson).
Highlight – in chorus’s three and four Wes does a one man call and response between a two note octave riff and chord punches voiced in a lower register then the riff. This is a concept that can work well when playing solo jazz guitar – a good way to add texture to a chorus or two.
Angel Eyes:
A great chord melody treatment of this classic ballad. Wes plays the melodic chorus unaccompanied before the rest of the trio joins in for his solo.
Highlights – Wes ‘s chord melody style is very smooth and legato, something any guitarist can strive for. – Wes treats each A section slightly different (form is AABA) – a technique arrangers use to keep things interesting and fresh.
Road Song :
A latin jazz original from Wes with the great B3 player Jimmy Smith on the session.
Highlight- besides the great solo chorus’s he plays on this, Wes really does some great comping behind the organ solo. In a organ trio setting, the guitar has to step up and provide the harmony for the B3 solos, as the organ player has both hands occupied – left hand, bass; and right hand, soloing. Wes uses a lot of higher voicings that don’t always have the root at the bottom, incorporating a lot of inversions and some passing chords.
Impressions:
From the classic live album Smokin’ at the Half Note, this album features Wes backed up by the great Miles Davis rhythm section.
Highlight- Wes uses a 3 stage solo format, single note, octave, and chord, that he incorporated many times in his improvisations. One of the high points of the solo is stage 3 – Wes using chords all over the neck, and some great riff like patterns to create excitement.
Four on Six:
Another track from the classic live album Smokin’ at the Half Note.
Highlight – in the octave portion of his solo Wes show incredible facility. His of arpeggios bringing out the higher notes (7th, 11th 13th ) of the chords is a Wes trademark sound!
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