The Wes Montgomery Trio: A Dynamic New Sound
Wes Montgomery’s first trio recording is the fountainhead from which everything has flowed.
In July 1948, Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra was on tour across America. Traveling with them was a young 25-year-old guitarist who was beginning to make a name for himself. The guitarist’s name was John Leslie Montgomery, who was known to everyone as Wes. (There was also another jazz musician of note in the band’s rhythm section. A bass player named Charles Mingus.) The Hampton Orchestra was heard regularly on radio at the time, on stations as far apart as Denver, Colorado; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Geneva, New York.
For the next few years, Montgomery stayed with Hampton, until the guitarist returned home to Indianapolis to support his young, growing, family. He and his two brothers, Buddy, a pianist, and Monk, who played Fender Jazz Bass, began performing together as the Montgomery Brothers. On October 1, 1959, the three brothers recorded as the Wes Montgomery Quintet for Pacific Jazz. Four days later, on October 5, Wes was at Reeves Sound Studios, New York, recording what would be his first album as a trio, along with Paul Parker on drums and Mel Rhyne on organ. Billed as The Wes Montgomery Trio, the session was released by Riverside a few months later.
While some have questioned the accompaniment of Parker and Rhyne, there is no questioning Wes’s amazing virtuosity on the guitar. Singlehandedly, he reinvented the guitar solo. On Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight,” the LP’s opening number, his playing is quite extraordinary; it sounds much later than a 1959 recording. Similarly, his take on Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll” offers something altogether fresh and different, as he also does on Horace Silver’s “Ecaroh.” Other standouts include “Yesterdays” and Montgomery’s own composition, “Jingles.”
Even if you’re a fan, The Wes Montgomery Trio may have passed you by. It’s worthy of your reconsideration, for this is the fountainhead from which everything follows .
Bernie
October 5, 2015 at 8:07 pm
I don’t see why anyone would question Parker and Rhyne’s accompaniment. Mel Ryhne was one of the few original Hammond organ players with not a hint of Jimmy Smith’s bombast or cliche in his playing. Parker kept great time and was a compelling rhythmic foil for his band mates.
LeeAnn Lewis
December 31, 2016 at 1:47 am
HEllo, is there any documentation of my father, drummer, Jerry Lee Jordan that had gotten to play with Wes? ( my father had passed away)
Robert Moehle
July 27, 2018 at 10:10 pm
i have said for YEARS that Wes Montgomery NEVER played a wrong note! And this album, “The Wes Montgomery Trio,” bears that out – even though it is an early effort, Montgomery still has pretty much as good command of his chops as he ever did. I think Wes Montgomery is the premier jazz guitarist of all time!!
Robert Sadullaev
October 8, 2022 at 10:10 am
Oh, he is indeed!