Guitarist Wes Montgomery had joined in with the The Wynton Kelly Trio once before, creating one of the most famous jazz guitar albums, Smokin' at the Half Note in 1965. This sees a reprise of that effort with Montgomery sitting in with pianist Kelly, with Ron McClure on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. This previously unreleased music was recorded for radio at the Penthouse Jazz Club in Seattle, WA on April 14 and 21, 1966. There is a mix of tracks with only the trio and with Montgomery sitting in, beginning with the trio tracks "There Is No Greater Love" and "Not a Tear." The former is a nice spirited performance that is fast paced and seriously swinging. There is a solid bass solo with subtle percussion along with rippling piano and trading of short sections between the piano and drums. The latter is a medium tempo piece with subtle bass and percussion anchoring the piano. The jump dramatically a little ways in, ramping up the pace quickly and mining a strong and deep vein of sound. Montgomery finally joins the group on "Jingles" which is a compact performance that begins with a tight, choppy theme before moving into a storming improvisation with the guitarist launching flinty shards of tone with fine trio accompaniment. They cruise in fine fashion, with a balanced and finely honed sound. The following tracks, "What's New" and "Blues in F" are also quartet performances, the first one developing a slower pace, with patient and thoughtful work from the trio along with probing guitar. Montgomery's dexterous and expressive playing is very impressive here and on the blues where they blast into a fast tempo with everybody playing at a high heat. This music is delightfully presented, buoyant and joyous with a group that just clicks, playing without pretense. Unfortunately, the music fades out before the conclusion. The trio is back in the spotlight for "Sir John" and "If You Could See Me Now" with the opening track becoming nicely stretched out with the musicians developing a deep pocket with elastic bass and grooving piano and drums. McClure is featured with a solo and then the closing track, a showbiz standard that gets a lush and ornamental opening, becoming an elegant ballad with brushes and gently spacious playing. Montgomery is featured on the final three tracks of this album, beginning with "West Coast Blues" which dives straight into his familiar melody, and then breaks out into a colorful quartet improvisation. They play thick slabs of music, solid and substantial stuff that is very exciting. "O Morro Não Tem Vez" and "Oleo" wrap things up with the Jobim tune given some nice rhythmic accents by Cobb and develops a nice bossa feel for guitar and percussion. The music is relaxed yet finely crafted with the guitarist's complete command of his instrument on full display. Finally they rip into the Sonny Rollins composition with some epic guitar chased by the roiling trio... only to have the music fade out infuriatingly after just two minutes. Such were the whims of radio recording during that era, but it leaves you wondering what might have been.
Smokin' In Seattle: Live At The Penthouse - amazon.com
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