Down Here on the Ground

Down Here on the Ground
Studio album by Wes Montgomery
Released	April 1968 [1]
Recorded	December 20, 1967 – January 26, 1968
Studio	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	31:11
Label	A&M
Producer	Creed Taylor
Wes Montgomery chronology
A Day in the Life (1967) Down Here on the Ground (1968) Road Song (1968)

Down Here on the Ground is an album by the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1968. It reached number one on the Billboard Jazz album chart and number 4 on the R&B chart. It also reached number 38 on the Billboard 200.

The title track is Montgomery's version of the theme from the movie Cool Hand Luke , composed by Lalo Schifrin. ^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

In 1968, Down Beat Magazine jazz critic Dan Morgenstern wrote a four-star review

In a 2010 AllMusic online review, Michael G. Nastos wrote:

... This is the beginning of the end for Montgomery as a jazz artist, and the inception of bachelor pad lounge/mood music that only lasted for a brief time... It does fall in that category of recordings where the musicians chose to produce, rather than create their personal brand of jazz, and is at the very least an historical footnote. ^[3]

Track listing

1. "Wind Song" (Herb Alpert, Nick Ceroli, Neil Larsen, John Pisano, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:22
2. "Georgia on My Mind" (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) – 2:46
3. "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" (Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent) – 2:36
4. "Down Here on the Ground" (Lalo Schifrin, Gale Garnett) – 3:42
5. "Up and at It" (Wes Montgomery) – 4:15
6. "Goin' on to Detroit" (Montgomery) – 3:38
7. "I Say a Little Prayer for You" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:18
8. "When I Look in Your Eyes" (Leslie Bricusse) – 3:11
9. "Know It All (Quem Diz Que Sabe)" (João Donato, Paulo Valle) – 2:59
10. "The Fox" (Lalo Schifrin) – 2:56

Personnel

• Wes Montgomery – guitar
• Herbie Hancock – piano
• Ron Carter – bass
• Grady Tate – drums
• Ray Barretto – percussion
• Hubert Laws – flute, oboe
• George Marge – flute, oboe
• Romeo Penque – flute, oboe
• Bobby Rosengarden – percussion
• Mike Mainieri – vibraphone
• Gene Orloff – violin
• Raoul Poliakin – violin
• George Ricci – cello
• Emanuel Vardi – viola

Production notes:

• Creed Taylor – producer
• Don Sebesky – arranger, conductor
• Eumir Deodato – arranger, conductor
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Kevin Reeves – mastering
• John Synder – remastering
• Pete Turner – cover photo, photography
• Isabelle Wong – design
• Sam Antupit – design
• Hollis King – art direction
• Andy Kman – production coordinator
• Harry Weinger – reissue supervisor

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1968	Billboard Jazz Albums	1
	Billboard R&B Albums	4
	The Billboard 200	38

External links

• Down Here on the Ground at Discogs (list of releases)

References

1. "Billboard". April 27, 1968.
2. Woodard, Josef (July–August 2005). "Wes Montgomery: The Softer Side of Genius'". JazzTimes .
3. Nastos, Michael G. "Down Here on the Ground > Review". AllMusic . Retrieved December 18, 2010.
4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1028. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 147. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.