Wynton Kelly Trio/Wes Montgomery: Smokin' At The Half Note [VERVE]

Why you'll love it

This remastered 180g pressing comes in a gatefold jacket. Pat Metheny called it "the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made," and its versions of "Unit 7" and "Four on Six" helped make both tunes jazz standards.

This edition

• Remastered
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Stereo mix

About the album

Borrow the rhythm section from Miles Davis and you'd better have something to say. Wes Montgomery did. Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb had backed Miles from 1959 to 1963, they'd already cut Full House with Wes for Riverside, and in the summer of 1965 the quartet toured the big American jazz rooms, including Newport.

"No Blues" and "If You Could See Me Now" come straight from the Half Note in New York in June, with Alan Grant's announcing setting the scene; Metheny named the solo on the latter his favourite of all time. At producer Creed Taylor's request, "Unit 7," "Four on Six" and "What's New?" were recorded that September at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, with the same burning energy. Wes plays his famous octaves and block chords with his thumb, and Kelly swings like the floor depends on it, while Chambers and Cobb lock in like the old friends they were.

AllMusic called it essential listening for anyone who wants to hear why Montgomery's live shows were the pinnacle of his playing. He never used a pick, which saved him a fortune and, by all accounts, his neighbours' patience.

Also at Kops: more Wes Montgomery on vinyl · browse Classic Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On Verve (cat# B0036829-01), a reissue of the 1965 album.