Search - Wes Montgomery :: Full House (20 Bit Mastering)

Incredible guitar!

Blues Bro | Lakewood, Colorado USA | 07/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The sound is great, as with all the releases in the 20 bit series, you have to get this one instead of the older version. Wes shares the spotlight with Griffin in most tracks, but there is plenty of guitar here to make your jaw drop to the floor. Wes later recorded for Verve, and made a bunch of commercial albums on which he was preety much instructed on what and how to play. But not here. This is live and shows clearly that Wes was the best jazz guitar player since Charlie Christian."

A Landmark! On Par With "Kind of Blue"

Mark Van Leeuwen | Newhall, CA | 11/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The band is smokin'! Excellent interaction among the players. All involved are clearly feeling it on this very special live show, with Wes leading the way. This is clearly his finest recording. Johnny Griffin, Wynton Kelly (he of the "oh so sweet" piano soloing on Miles' "Freddie Freeloader"), Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb are all having sublime nights as well. What fun, and clearly on of the finest jazz recordings of all time. A must for all collections, jazz or otherwise."

Already my favourite Wes Montgomery CD!

Olukayode Balogun | Leeds, England | 08/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just picked this one up along with The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, which I'd had on vinyl for some time. I'm already liking this one so much more though. Why? Well, it could be because of Johnny Griffin who's simply awesome on tenor saxophone (on all tracks except "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" & "Born To Be Blue"); it could be because the rhythm section (Wynton Kelly on piano - except on "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" - Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums) lend excellent support, with some pretty exciting solos to boot, or it could just be that this is one of the first albums by Montgomery where I've heard him play straightforward, wild & loose jazz improvisations with very little of the signature octave playing he's widely known for and, certainly, with none of the pop sensibilities he became known for when he joined forces with producer Creed Taylor.



Recorded "'live'" in a "one-night-only encounter" at Tsubo, a nightclub in Berkeley, California on the 25th of June 1962 and produced by Orrin Keepnews, I'd go as far as to say that this is probably already my favourite Montgomery CD. It's a great solid set of pure jazz and I'm so grateful to my boy Derek for pointing me in its direction.



One thing though: I'm ambivalent about bonus tracks at the best of times; it's always been my view that albums are best left as they were originally intended when they are transferred from vinyl to CD. I've played the bonus versions of "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "S.O.S." over and over again now and it took a while but I guess I can now see why they've been included. They are different enough from the other takes to warrant the title "bonus tracks" - but it's a very close call. As long as we're not being charged extra for them.



"Born To Be Blue" is the exception though, and is a more than welcome addition. I've got a different version on Wes Montgomery Plays The Blues (a pretty decent set, by the way) but this one right here is so much better.



Next down on my wishlist? Smokin' at the Half Note."