Boss Guitar

by Wes Montgomery

Overview

Before he moved away from straight-ahead jazz and starting playing what is now known as smooth jazz, Wes Montgomery was one of bop's finest guitarists. Montgomery's bop period ended much too soon, but thankfully, he recorded his share of rewarding bop albums when he was still bop-oriented -- and one of them is Boss Guitar, which Orrin Keepnews produced in 1963. It's a trio recording, employing Mel Rhyne on organ and Jimmy Cobb on performances that have held up well over time; Montgomery shows how expressive a ballad player he could be on the standards "For Heaven's Sake" and "Days of Wine and Roses," but the fast tempo exuberance of "The Trick Bag" (a Montgomery original) serves him equally well. Montgomery swings the blues with pleasing results on "Fried Pies" (another Montgomery original), while Consuelo Velazquez's "Besame Mucho" (which is usually played at a slow ballad tempo) is successfully transformed into medium-tempo Latin jazz. Boss Guitar is among the bop-oriented Montgomery albums that should continue to be savored after all these years. [In addition to the eight master takes that were heard on the original '60s LP, some reissues contain alternate takes of "Besame Mucho," "The Trick Bag," and "Fried Pies" -- all of which will interest collectors.] ~ Alex Henderson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/17/2015
Label:	Concord / Fantasy
UPC:	0888072361485
Rank:	39975

Tracks

1. Besame Mucho
2. Dearly Beloved
3. Days of Wine and Roses
4. The Trick Bag
5. Canadian Sunset
6. Fried Pies
7. Breeze and I
8. For Heaven's Sake
9. Besame Mucho [Take 2, Alternate]
10. The Trick Bag [Take 6, Alternate]
11. Fried Pies [Take 1]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Wes Montgomery   Primary Artist,Guitar
Jimmy Cobb   Drums

Technical Credits

Ernesto Lecuona   Composer
Sherman Edwards   Composer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Neil Tesser   Liner Notes
Chris Clough   Project Assistant
Elise Bretton   Composer
Ed Michel   Photography
Don Meyer   Composer
Tutti Camarata   Composer
Joe Tarantino   Remastering
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Wes Montgomery   Composer
Nick Phillips   Reissue Producer
Ray Fowler   Engineer
Al Stillman   Composer
Henry Mancini   Composer
Joe Goldberg   Original Liner Notes
Consuelo Velazquez   Composer
Eddie Heywood   Composer
Orrin Keepnews   Recording Producer
Sunny Skylar   Composer
Lecuona   Composer
Norman Gimbel   Composer
Sherman Edwards & Donald Meyer   Composer
Ken Deardoff   Design
Ernesto Lecuona Casado   Composer
Abbey Anna   Project Assistant
Rikka Arnold   Editorial
Andrew Pham   Design
Donald Meyer   Composer
Torres Velasquez   Composer