js Despite having a fairly short career, Wes Montgomery was one of the most talented and influential jazz guitarists ever. After a promising start as a soulful and bluesy hard boppist, Wes began making pop oriented albums in the early 60s and then suddenly died of a heart attack in the late 60s before he had a chance to get back to recording jazz albums again. “Greatest Hits” on the A&M label is a collection of the pop tunes Wes recorded for that label from the mid to late 60s. The tunes on here are a mixed bag, some are fairly cheezy while others give Wes a chance to show what he is capable of. To Montgomery’s credit, the cheeziest moments never come from him, but from the heavy handed arranger(s) who gets carried away with the strings and other window dressings (no credits are given, but that is probably the talented but sometimes excessive Don Sebesky handling the orchestra). On the other hand, Wes’s playing maintains its integrity and his blues roots never yield to the candy coated orchestrations.

The best tune on here is “Scarborough Fair”, which has little orchestra clutter, therefore allowing Wes to state the melody in free abstract form and then head straight for a cool flavored modal jam, sort of Coltrane-lite if you will. “I Say a Little Prayer” has sophisticated chord changes and one of Wes’ most energetic solos on the album and “Road Song” is a classic soul jazz groove with some good horn kicks. The rest of the cuts on here vary from okay to a couple that are not that great. Still, on every tune, Wes never drops the ball and remains creative and very much himself.

Even amongst Wes Montgomery’s pop tunes, this may not be the best collection, buts its not the worst either, sort of in-between. If you like Montgomery’s pop covers, or 60s pop jazz in general, then this may make a worthwhile purchase. Its not too hard to find it at a very reasonable price too.

js Easily one of the top jazz guitarists of all time, Wes Montgomery spent much of his career recording commercial albums of varying quality. Unfortunately, “A Day in the Life” is not one of his best efforts, but it does have its moments. The first side starts off great with Wes playing the title track melody by the Beatles to a slow smokey groove. This sort of laid back bluesy cool is classic Montgomery territory and this album would have been great with more moments like this. Unfortunately, just as Wes is wrapping up his solo, arranger Don Sebesky decides to include the jaunty bouncy middle section of the classic Beatles’ tune ("grabbed my coat, grabbed my hat") and the whole track just loses its vibe right there. From there the album proceeds towards various pop ditties and lite bossa novas that are often buried under heavy handed string treatments. Pop-jazz can be just as valid and artistic as any other music, but not most of the tunes on this album. The cover of “When a Man Loves a Woman” is a good example of this album’s faults with its overbearing strings and simple reading of the tune, Montgomery is capable of so much more than this.

As mentioned earlier, there are some good tracks on here; “California Nights” is cool Latin tinged exotica, and the album closer, “The Joker”, has a great Afro-Cuban groove and some real jazz soloing from Wes. Add to those two, the good part of the opening cut, and you have a few worthwhile tracks for the collector of Montgomery’s best music.

js “Bumpin” is a fairly typical 60s Verve/Creed Taylor album, sporting a beautiful gatefold album cover that houses well produced, but fairly commercial music that mixes jazz and pop elements. Some of these Verve albums are better than others, "Bumpin" has its moments, but its not one of the best, nor is it the worse either. The talented Wes Montgomery is the star and its no big surprise to see that Don Sebesky is the arranger. Sebesky is often the make or break on these songs as his orchestrations range from clever and modern, to over-done and syrupy sentimental.

The album opens with two of the best cuts, “Bumpin” is cool noire swing blues and Sebesky’s strings add perfect dark touches, and “Tear it Down” is one of the few ‘real jazz’ cuts on here with Montogomery taking a nice hard bop solo. Although “Tear it Down” isn’t a pop number, you still get the idea that Wes is being coached to take it easy. The following two cuts are classic 60s easy listening with “Con Aolma” being a pleasant listen with its Latin groove, harp glissandos and pizzacato string accents, but “A Quiet Thing” is unbearable in its massive sentimental schmaltz.

Side two continues with more cuts in the Latin flavored easy listening vibe with “Here’s that Rainy Day” featuring another well done, but relaxed guitar solo. The album closes out with “Musty”, another swing based blues that allows Wes to play some nice blues/jazz licks, but the song keeps getting swamped with Sebesky’s heavy handed strings. There are probably a few cuts on here that are of interest to Wes Montgomery fans, and a few more that might interest fans of 60s artsy easy listening and exotica, but there are a few cuts on here that are pure fluff, or worse. The title cut is the best, and makes for quite a find for the collector of interesting instrumentals. If you find this record for as cheap as I did, its worth it for that one track alone, plus there are a few other cuts that aren't too bad either.

MilesBeyond This album's title is no idle boast, no mere braggadocio. Wes Montgomery is quite possibly the greatest talent to have ever graced the guitar, and this recording is what would both introduce him to the jazz world at large, including his unique and quintessential approach to the instrument, and establish his presence as a musical giant.

The album is evenly split between standards and original compositions. The standards open with the Sonny Rollins composition Airegin (Nigeria spelt backwards, for those who are wondering). This essentially serves as Montgomery's tour de force: At the time, it was one of the most difficult compositions to play over and to this day it remains a challenging piece. Nonetheless, Montgomery navigates the unforgiving changes with elegance and grace, his playing deceptive: The tasteful, understated lines neatly mask the incredible complexity of what is happening.

The next two standards are Polkadots and Moonbeams (track 3), and In Your Own Sweet Way (track 6). These two are the ballads of the album, and they demonstrate a completely different side of Wes' playing. Delicate and heart-wrenching, Montgomery uses his guitar to elicit emotions in a way that is usually reserved to horn players. Polkadots demonstrates his affinity for octaves, creating a delicate, floating sound which invites the listener to drift along with it. In contrast, Sweet Way begins with an aching chord melody that pushes the song's harmonies to their limits, followed by what would become one of the most influential guitar solos ever recorded.

Finally, the album closes with Gone With The Wind. A light, easy swinger, the song is the perfect vehicle to illustrate Wes' tasteful playing. , The original compositions include D Natural Blues (track 2), Four on Six (track 4), West Coast Blues (track 5), and Mr. Walker (Renie) (track 7). D Natural Blues offers Wes' slick take on this classic form of jazz, and while it can be subject to cliché it's nonetheless a great opportunity to hear the band grooving.

Four on Six, however, is the centrepiece of the album. The only Wes original from here that would go on to become a standard, it begins with a driving bass ostinato outlining the chord changes. The guitar solo on this song is quintessential Wes, and anyone looking to understand what he was all about should look no further. It shows off his idiosyncratic style of beginning with single note lines, building to octaves, and finally culminating in block chords, and it does so to great effect. If you're a musician in general and a guitarist in particular, this solo is essential listening. However, be sure to check out the ultimate recording of this song on his album Smokin' At The Half Note, which takes what's done here, builds on it, and tops it in a way one would never have thought possible.

West Coast Blues, with it's bouncing chord changes, 12/8 time signature and slippery, almost Monk-like melody lines, is a bit more of a modern take on the I-IV-V than the earlier D Natural Blues. Fantastic playing on this one as well, which has become a classic Wes cut and a must-learn for any jazz guitarist.

Finally, there's Mr. Walker. This is actually one of my personal favourite Wes compositions and I'm surprised it doesn't get more attention. It's the albums only latin-influenced cut (although Wes would get more into that later), and it's a breath of fresh air. It contrasts a mean, swaggering A section with an open, floating B section, and the playing is terrific, with Wes manipulating the (admittedly simple) changes to great advantage and pulling out all the stops on the second chorus with octaves galore. Tommy Flanagan also plays a wonderful solo on this one, with his soaring piano lines amplifying the effect of the B section.

It may seem odd that this is the first mention of the band but their playing is actually rather underwhelming on this album. While I'm usually a fan of Flanagan, his playing doesn't stand out on this album (which could quite likely be intentional, given the album's spotlight on Wes), and the brothers Heath get the job done, but that's it. The aforementioned Smokin' At The Half Note is a great example of Wes playing with other musicians who are truly of his calibre, and it is not to be missed.

Nonetheless, this recording is still a fantastic portrait of one of the greatest figures in the world of guitar. Any fan of jazz should hear it, any jazz musician should own it, and any jazz guitarist should know it by heart.