John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb, and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a distinctive sound.
Percy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout their long history and also worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk and Lee Konitz.
The Wes Montgomery Trio is an album by the American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1960. The track "Missile Blues" is named after the club in Indianapolis where Montgomery played before moving to New York City to record for Riverside. At this club, he met Riverside's record producer Orrin Keepnews. The album was reissued on the Original Jazz Classics label.
Thomas Lee Flanagan was an American jazz pianist and composer. He grew up in Detroit, initially influenced by such pianists as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole, and then by bebop musicians. Within months of moving to New York in 1956, he had recorded with Miles Davis and on Sonny Rollins' album Saxophone Colossus. Recordings under various leaders, including Giant Steps of John Coltrane, continued well into 1962, when he became vocalist Ella Fitzgerald's full-time accompanist. He worked with Fitzgerald for three years until 1965, and then in 1968 returned to be her pianist and musical director, this time for a decade.
"Airegin" is a jazz standard composed by American jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins in 1954. Rollins chose the name "Airegin", as it is an anadrome of "Nigeria".
Smokin' at the Half Note is an album by Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio that was released in 1965. It was recorded live in June 1965 at the Half Note Club in New York City and September 22, 1965 at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The album combines guitarist Montgomery with the Miles Davis rhythm section from 1959–1963 of Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. The album's versions of "Unit 7" and "Four on Six" have helped to establish these pieces as jazz standards.
The Cats is an album by jazz pianist Tommy Flanagan recorded on April 18, 1957 and released in December 1959 on New Jazz, a subsidiary label of Prestige Records. It is credited to Flanagan, saxophonist John Coltrane, guitarist Kenny Burrell, and trumpeter Idrees Sulieman. It was issued after Coltrane's Prestige contract had ended.
So Much Guitar! is an album by American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released by Riverside Records in 1961. It was reissued by Fantasy Records as a part of the Original Jazz Classics series.
The Complete Riverside Recordings is a box set of American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery's early recordings on the Riverside label. It is a twelve-CD box set and was released in 1992. It contains 157 songs and includes 15 previously unissued performances, six re-edited versions of previously issued numbers and 29 alternate takes. The extensive liner notes by producer Orrin Keepnews and Jim Ferguson, session notes, and photographs. Keepnews and Ferguson received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Album Notes.
Boss Guitar is an album by American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1963 by Riverside. It was reissued on the Original Jazz Classics label with alternate takes. All the tracks are available on Wes Montgomery: The Complete Riverside Recordings.
Portrait of Wes is an album by the American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1966.
Guitar on the Go is an album by American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery that released in 1966. It includes tracks recorded in 1959 and October and November 1963. The album was Montgomery's last for Riverside before signing with Verve.
Fingerpickin' is an album by the American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery.
Work Song is an album by jazz cornetist Nat Adderley, recorded in January 1960 and released on the Riverside label. It features Adderley with Bobby Timmons, Wes Montgomery, Sam Jones, Percy Heath, Keter Betts and Louis Hayes in various combinations from a trio to a sextet, with the unusual sound of pizzicato cello to the fore on some tracks.
Far Wes is a reissue of Montgomeryland, a 1958 album by the American jazz group the Montgomery Brothers, including guitarist Wes Montgomery.
Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo is a 1966 collaborative album by American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery and electric organist Jimmy Smith, with arrangements by Oliver Nelson. It is frequently listed among Jimmy Smith's best albums. The duo's follow-up record, Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes, was recorded during the same sessions and released in 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.
Bags & Flutes is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring performances recorded in 1957 and released on the Atlantic label.
East to Wes is a studio album by the jazz guitarist Emily Remler. She was accompanied by the pianist Hank Jones, who had played on Firefly (1981), her first record, the double bass player Buster Williams and the drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith.
Gemini is an album by American jazz guitarist and flutist Les Spann released in 1961. It is Spann's only studio album as a leader, recorded when he was playing as a sideman with Dizzy Gillespie's quintet and Quincy Jones' big band. The title of the album corresponds to Spann's zodiac sign, born on May 23, 1932. For this work Spann led a quintet formed by Julius Watkins, Tommy Flanagan (piano), Sam Jones and two drummers sharing the two recording dates, Albert "Tootie" Heath and Louis Hayes.
