Boss Guitar [Import]

Wes Montgomery | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 4, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Jvc Victor
• ASIN: B0002V00RA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,793,055 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Besame Mucho

2. Dearly Beloved

3. Days of Wine and Roses

4. The Trick Bag

5. Canadian Sunset

6. Fried Pies

7. The Breeze and I

8. For Heaven's Sake

9. Besame Mucho [Take 2][*]

10. Fried Pies [Take 1][*]

Editorial Reviews

Wes Montgomery began his incredible series of recordings for Riverside in the organ trio context that he employed on gigs in his native Indianapolis. After a series of acclaimed albums featuring pianists, Montgomery ended his Riverside run by reuniting with Hammond B-3 master Melvin Rhyne on several sessions. The first, Boss Guitar, featured Jimmy Cobb on drums, and the Miles Davis veteran (and future Montgomery working partner) inspired the guitarist and organist to their greatest recorded work together. Highlights include a cooking 6/8 version of "Besame Mucho," the funky Montgomery blues "Fried Pies," and Montgomery's dazzling showpiece "The Trick Bag," (each heard in both master and alternate takes).

The best modern jazz classics are revisited in the Original Jazz Classics Remasters series. Each title in the series features 24-bit remastering, original AND new liner notes, fully restored artwork, and bonus tracks (when available). --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of Wes, November 15, 2001

By 

stranger2himself (Down Here) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boss Guitar (Audio CD)

I strongly agree with the other reviewers who believe this is the Maestro's best outing. Therefore, as the best of Wes, it is by definition the pinnacle of jazz guitar. For newcomers, though, you can't go wrong with any of his recordings on the Riverside label, now issued as part of the "Original Jazz Classics" series. "Besame Mucho" has that minor-key, midtempo Latin thing that just kills me--the second take is even cooler than the first. "Trick Bag", "Canadian Sunset", "Fried Pies", & right in the middle, a supremely melodic rendition of "Days of Wine & Roses". Man, oh man, what are you waiting for? I've owned this disc for at least 5 years, and still listen to it 2 or 3 times a week, at least. That's heavy rotation when you consider approx. 1,000 other CD's to choose from. Get it now, or remain tragically unhip.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright, Tight & Cookin' !, August 12, 2002

By 

Eddie Landsberg "My 10th year as a reviewer !... (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Boss Guitar (Audio CD)

What's amazing about this session is the way Wes carries it from begining to end... Wes is upfront throughout... relaxed, smoking and creatively vibrant... before Mel Rhyne even gets his first word in Wes has soulfully breezed through the duration of a 5 minute guitar solo, each chorus as interesting if not more interesting than the next. - - Jimmy Cobb's bright and sizzling drumming does nothing but help... Today Mel Rhyne is one of the strongest organists around with a full, heavy grooving, heavy swinging and amply commanding sound both as an accompaniest and a soloist - - however, on this session it is clear that Wes is the Boss... however, accompanied in more than adequate company... backed by a rhythm section that is tight, yet flowing and responsive at the same time. You get the feeling that these home town cats have worked together before ! From the beauty of CANADIAN SUNSET to the frenzic licks of THE TRICK BAG the album sounds fresh and modernsitic even even almost 40 years later - - if ever a "prototypical" Jazz session was recorded... this one belongs near the top of the list !

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Boss Guitar...you ain't kiddin', July 5, 2003

By 

Douglasnegley (Pittsburgh, Pa.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boss Guitar (Audio CD)

I agree with a reviewer who stated that not only is Wes obviously comfortable with the format here (organ trio with Mel Rhyne and Jimmy Cobb), he is sounding true and playing at a level that even by his own standard must be considered "cold-blooded" (as my friend and Wes 'descendent' Jimmy Ponder called it). The way Wes builds his single line solos only to break into impossible chordal ones just when you think he has gone the distance makes me shake my head in amazement, still, after nearly 30+ years of hearing it. While it is true that Wes played by ear, he did eventually know most of the names of the chords he played, and, not that it matters one bit, understood "scales" simply by having mastered them before "knowing" them in the traditional sense. But I digress - "Boss Guitar" is one of Wes' finest Riverside recordings, for whatever reason. I was too young to meet Wes, but those who knew him say that, unlike many players, what one hears on these recordings is the man...so in a way, everyone who digs this knows a big piece of Wes Montgomery and his 'boss guitar'.