California Dreaming (Wes Montgomery album)

This article is about the 1966 album. For other uses, see California Dreamin' (disambiguation).

California Dreaming
Studio album by Wes Montgomery
Released	February 1967 [1]
Recorded	September 14 – 16, 1966
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	38:40
Label	Verve
Producer	Creed Taylor
Wes Montgomery chronology
Goin' Out of My Head (1965) California Dreaming (1967) Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo (1966)

California Dreaming is an album by the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1967. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine jazz album chart and No. 4 on the R&B album chart. It was reissued on CD in 2007 with an alternate take of "Sunny".

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[4]

In his review for AllMusic, jazz critic Scott Yanow wrote: "The material is strictly pop fluff of the era and the great guitarist has little opportunity to do much other than state the melody in his trademark octaves. This record was perfect for AM radio of the period." ^[2] The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote that, despite starting with a recent pop hit, the album allowed some glimpses of Montgomery’s jazz playing. ^[3]

Track listing

1. "California Dreaming" (John Phillips, Michelle Phillips) – 3:08
2. "Sun Down" (Wes Montgomery) – 6:03
3. "Oh, You Crazy Moon" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke) – 3:44
4. "More, More, Amor" (Sol Lake) – 2:54
5. "Without You" (Rinaldo Marino, Walter Myers) – 3:05
6. "Winds of Barcelona" (Lake) – 3:07
7. "Sunny [alternate take]" (Bobby Hebb) – 3:07
8. "Sunny" (Hebb) – 4:04
9. "Green Peppers" (Lake) – 2:56
10. "Mr. Walker" (Montgomery) – 3:39
11. "South of the Border" (Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Carr) – 3:13

Personnel

• Wes Montgomery – guitar
• Mel Davis – trumpet
• Bernie Glow – trumpet
• Jimmy Nottingham – trumpet
• Wayne Andre – trombone
• Johnny Messner – trombone
• Bill Watrous – trombone
• James Buffington – French horn
• Don Butterfield – tuba
• Stan Webb – clarinet, English horn, saxophone
• Raymond Beckenstein – flute, piccolo, saxophone
• Herbie Hancock – piano
• Al Casamenti – guitar
• Bucky Pizzarelli – guitar
• Richard Davis – double bass
• Grady Tate – drums
• Jack Jennings – vibraphone, castanets, scratching
• Ray Barretto – percussion

Production:

• Creed Taylor – producer
• Don Sebesky – arranger, conductor
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Gert Van Hoeyen – remastering
• Dennis Drake – remastering
• Ken Whitmore – cover photo, photography

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Peak Position
1967	Billboard Best-Selling Jazz LP's	1
	Billboard Hot R&B LP's	4
	Billboard Top LP's [5]	65
	Cashbox Top 100 Albums [6]	44

References

1. "Billboard". March 11, 1967.
2. Yanow, Scott. "California Dreaming > Review". AllMusic . Retrieved December 20, 2010.
3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1028. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
4. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p.  147. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
5. Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 104. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
6. Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 259. ISBN   0-8108-2005-6.