5つ星のうち5.0An astonishing meeting of two of hard bop's most legendary titans
2018年5月9日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
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Thought I'd reviewed this one already, but it slipped through the cracks. At any rate, as fans of bebop and hard bop that were at their peak in the 1950's and 1960's know, the pairing of jazz' greatest guitarist ever, Wes Montgomery and the greatest B-3 organist ever, Jimmy Smith, whom I must admit may lose his crown one day to his number one disciple, Joey DeFrancesco, is a summit of gigantic proportions. Both musicians were at the top of their game when they recorded two albums together, "The Dynamic Duo" and "Further Adventures of Jimmy & Wes". I do not have the latter album yet, but it's on my short list as soon as my music budget allows. And if these two weren't enough, the opening horn filled number, "Down By The Riverside" pays dues to the king of jazz, Duke Ellington, before the horn arrangement backs off for a while to let the stars shine before reaching its joyous conclusion. "Night Train" too can be regarded as Ellingtonian, with a swing that can move mountains. Then we get down to jammin' business with the eight plus minute "James and Wes", a bluesy romp full of sizzling trade off solos, made more effective by both players providing great rhythm work while the other solos. I've maintained that this, along with some of the other hot numbers Smith did, and I'm thinking of "The Sermon" with the equally great guitarist Kenny Burrell, is as much a blueprint for the rock and roll jamming that would soon take the musical world by storm. It's jazz, it's blues, and dare I say it rocks, too! "Death March" is a lively tune despite its macabre title. The album closes with two fine jams, the standard "Baby It's Cold Outside" and "OGD (Road Song)". I recommend this album to rock fans, too. Jazz has just as an indelible mark on rock and roll and rock music overall as blues, early country like Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys or Bill Monroe, who absolutely shredded on mandolin did. Steely Dan fans would be remiss not to check these legends and so many others in the bebop/hard bop years if they haven't already. The late great Jon Lord of Deep Purple fame would have been much less exciting without the pioneering playing of Jimmy Smith, or fellow B-3 great Larry Young, who did get into rock in a big way doing a stellar, no, monumental jam with Jimi Hendrix, called simply enough, "Young/Hendrix". That near 30 minute magnum opus is on a four CD set of Hendrix rarities, but was first heard on "Nine To The Universe" in a 10 minute truncated excerpt on a five song jam album no longer in print. I am steadily acquiring more jazz music in my collection, and this one is one of my favorites.
Probabilmente l'ultima registrazione di Wes, un cd che consiglierei volentieri ad una persona che voglia avvicinarsi al mondo del jazz, un lavoro leggero, suonato magistralmente è con ottima musica.
I enjoyed this record all the way through. The balance, for me was just about right though I would have enjoyed it more if the screaming and wailing trumpeters went somewhere else. Why is it that jazz trumpeters always seem to want to wail in the highest key possible. Miles Davis didn't do that, nor did Chet bake. However I digress - Jimmy Smith swung as he does, and Wes Montgomery swung in the laid back way he nearly always did and the magic was always there. It's one of the sad stories that he died way too early. My opinions entirely,but I love this record.
Monument de la guitare Jazz !!! Wes pose des standards guitaristiques d'une musicalité hallucinante. Je suis désormais à l'étude minutieuse de ses albums avec orgue.