Wes Montgomery - Pretty Blue
ARTIST.....: Wes Montgomery
TITLE......: Pretty Blue
LABEL......: Milestone
URL........: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7491218&BAB=E
RIP DATE...: Nov-17-2007
STORE DATE.: Sep-25-2007
GENRE......: Jazz
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 106,7 MB
Track Listing:
01 - All The Way 02:39
02 - Pretty Blue 03:40
03 - God Bless The Child (Take 4) 03:19
04 - God Bless The Child (Take 2) 03:17
05 - In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning 02:49
06 - The Girl Next Door 03:08
07 - My Romance 02:30
08 - Tune-Up (Take 5) 03:13
09 - Tune-Up (Take 4) 04:42
10 - Prelude To A Kiss 03:08
11 - Somewhere 03:30
12 - Baubles, Bangles And Beads 02:22
13 - 'Round Midnight 04:56
14 - Whisper Not 04:39
15 - Too Late Now 04:54
16 - Canadian Sunset 05:08
17 - For Heaven's Sake 04:43
18 - Days Of Wine And Roses 03:48
19 - Yesterday's Child 04:15
20 - Dreamsville 03:51
21 - For All We Know 04:29
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79:00 min
Release Notes:
Wes Montgomery accomplished something few jazz artists could, as
he used the disparate elements of the orchestral string ensemble
and small organ combo within a similar balladic approach. While
one could contend these approaches may not be as effective as a
more conventional approach, Montgomery made them work. What he
could not do was infuse an energy that transcends the ballad
approach, making this concept priceless. There's a certain
lugubrious restraint that permeates this single CD, originally a
two-fer on vinyl, that showcases the guitarists first recordings
with strings, and selections plucked from his most ramped down
organ combo featuring Melvin Rhyne. The 12 selections with a 12-
piece string ensemble (conducted and arranged by Jimmy Jones) plus
woodwinds and his rhythm section cover standards, a lone original,
a Miles Davis and a Duke Ellington composition reissued from the
1963 Riverside LP "Fusion!" There's no energy or groove
whatsoever, it's all ballads and an emphasis on diffidence, with
the strings submerging Montgomery's guitar for the most part. The
wintry sparkle of the title cut and intro of "Prelude To A Kiss"
brightens the otherwise sleepy mood and does indeed complement
Wes. Two takes of "God Bless The Child" are weakly interpreted,
while the strings clash with the easy swing of the otherwise bop
icon "Tune Up." An occasional oboe or clarinet turns jazz ballads
chamber-like, but literally smothers the music, and only on "My
Romance" and "Somewhere" does honest emotionalism emerge. For the
sessions with master organist Rhyne, it's all ballads and no soul
jazz as one might expect, save a sprightly bossa nova take on
"Canadian Sunset" and a relaxed swing for Benny Golson's "Whisper
Not." There's a slight spooky feeling on "'Round Midnight," where
otherwise Montgomery matches the serenity Rhyne evokes on these
nine standards taken from three different trio recordings for
Riverside in 1959 & 1963. Where Montgomery's more distinctly
commercial work would follow these sessions, what this album
represents is an easy listening prelude that would shape the
guitarists path, for better or worse depending on your
perspective.