discography ramblings, Wes Montgomery Trio

[random@well.sf.ca.us (Ben "Jacobs")]

Hey, everybody.  Just got back from four days working the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas.  What a weird place.  Boy are my feet sore.
Funny latenite penthouse jam session with a bunch of videogame soundtrack
composers (the Sierra Online house band, I was told).

Touring the casino lounges at night, every single band I checked out had a
keyboard player playing some kind of cheesy B3 imitation (Korg M1 seems the
standard issue, yechhhh!!!).  These are top dollar gigs -- if anyone out
there has a real organ and a few months to spare, I bet it wouldn't be hard
to jump into one of these 7-night-a-week Vegas lounge gigs and make some
serious bank.  (But don't expect me to come check you out -- 4 days a year
in that town are enough for me).

Ah well, I digress (as usual).

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Gilles Bacon writes:
>I realize that this list is focused on technical aspects of keyboards, but
>if anyone would welcome discussions about B-3 (& other organ) artists, I
>would love to post ^Groove^ and hear your comments/suggestions/flames.

I have a feeling that our collective focus will actually be shifting more
towards the discussion of artists, musical issues, etc. as we get through
the initial excitement of being in touch (for the first time) with so many
fellow B3-compulsive types.  From what I've seen so far, the FAQ will
likely free up a lot of bandwidth for more discussion of the art itself.
Don't get me wrong, though, I have found the technical issues raised here
extremely useful and interesting.

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Now, to the discography itself...  I will send a more comprehensive list of
organ recordings in my possession direct to Bradley.  But I noticed the
complete absence of Wes Montgomery trio sessions from version 0.1 of the
discography, so I thought I might post a little discussion of these
recordings, which happen to feature some of my very favorite examples of
jazz organ playing.

Wait, you say, Montgomery is a guitarist.  However, by his own account, he
felt most comfortable performing in the trio format: guitar, organ, drums.
A number of trio sessions were recorded for Riverside, the first label to
feature Montgomery's distinctive and highly influential guitar work.  These
were released on vinyl, in various combinations and at various times.
Original releases include Wes Montgomery Trio (Riverside 310), Boss Guitar
(Riv 459), Portrait of Wes (Riv 492), and the last, Guitar on the Go (Riv
9494).  The sessions, played in New York and spanning the years from 1959
to 1963, represent the beginnings of Montgomery's recording career, well
before the better known, big budget (big band) stuff with Jimmy Smith.

Mel Rhyne was the organ man for these dates.  While seldom receiving more
than sidewise mention in guitar-oriented liner notes, Rhyne's refreshing
style and great mobility are major assets to the recordings.  Fluent
exchange of basslines and rhythmic comping between guitar and organ go a
long way towards defining the possibilities of trio format.  And Rhyne's
intriguing linear solo playing is a perfect complement to Montgomery's
unusual guitar work.  Also worth noticing is the freedom Rhyne feels to
drop in and out of walking the bass, almost at will.  This works
particularly smoothly here, possibly because he tends to match guitar
registration, walking the bass an octave or two higher than typical organ
bass work.  I'm guessing that he plays left-hand bass (not pedals), and
that he leaves drawbars one and two out.

Montgomery certainly was the man paying the bills, groomed by his record
label and management for commercial success, which he did begin to achieve
later in his career.  Even on the Riverside dates, he takes the melodic
lead and more extensive solos in most cases.  His name is the one on the
cover.  But Mel Rhyne demonstrates the alertness and versatility as a
sideman which really make these sessions work.  If I ever achieve the dream
of assembling my own organ trio, this stuff will be *required* listening.

Availability:  The original Riverside releases are rare, though at least
the last two (Riv 492 and 9494) were digitally remastered for Fantasy in
1990.  Check those used shops.  Various tracks from the Riverside albums,
as well as some unissued takes, were also remastered and pressed on vinyl
in 1980 as Yesterdays (Milestone M-47057, distributed by Fantasy).  This
collection is a pretty good survey of the Montgomery organ trio sessions as
they evolved, proceeding chronologically, over the course of four album
sides.

Questions:  This is the extent of my knowledge on Montgomery/Rhyne
discography.  Any additions or corrections (more recorings to enjoy,
especially!) would be of great interest to me.  Hey, can anybody out there
point me towards other Mel Rhyne work, either live or (preferably) on
studio dates?

- ben "jacobs" -- random@well.sf.ca.us
- POB 2236, San Anselmo, CA 94979, USA