Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Stereo Remastered) Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly Trio

• 1 Laura (Recorded Live at the Half Note, September 24, 1965) 06:57
• 2 Cariba (Recorded Live at the Half Note, September 24, 1965) 08:47
• 3 Blues (Recorded Live at the Half Note, September 24, 1965) 03:20
• 4 Impressions (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 5, 1965) 06:03
• 5 Mi Cosa (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 5, 1965) 03:33
• 6 No Blues (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 5, 1965) 05:37
• 7 Birk's Works (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 12, 1965) 05:55
• 8 Four on Six (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 12, 1965) 08:25
• 9 The Theme (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 12, 1965) 01:34
• 10 All the Things You Are (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 19, 1965) 06:40
• 11 I Remember You (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 19, 1965) 07:10
• 12 No Blues (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 19, 1965) 02:43
• 13 Cherokee (Recorded Live at the Half Note, late 1965) 10:38
• 14 The Song Is You (Recorded Live at the Half Note, late 1965) 16:17
• 15 Four On Six (Recorded Live at the Half Note, late 1965) 10:45
• 16 Star Eyes (Recorded Live at the Half Note, late 1965) 15:30
• 17 Oh, You Crazy Moon (Recorded Live at the Half Note, late 1965) 04:27
• Total Runtime 02:04:21

Info for Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Stereo Remastered)

Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings is the first official release of the complete previously unissued recordings from jazz guitar giant Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio at the famed Half Note jazz club in New York City in 1965 with drummer Jimmy Cobb and bassists Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Herman Wright and Larry Ridley.

The album Smokin’ At the Half Note, which featured Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio recorded live in 1965 at the eponymous New York club, was a 24 karat classic. It’s dizzying to realise that Kelly’s trio, with Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums, is effectively the rhythm section from Kind of Blue (on which Kelly alternated on piano with Bill Evans). What’s more, Pat Metheny considers that Wes Montgomery’s playing on ‘If You Could See Me Now’ from this album is the greatest guitar solo of all time…

All of which goes to explain why a wealth of lost recordings from the same musicians in the same club in the same year provokes a considerable degree of excitement. Released on the Resonance label, Maximum Swing doesn’t feature exactly the same line up as Smokin’ throughout; Paul Chambers only appears on one date (24 September 1965) consisting of three tracks. But when he’s being deputised by musicians of the calibre of Ron Carter, there’s no grounds for complaint. The other bass players sitting in for Chambers are Herman Wright and Larry Ridley.

Wes Montgomery, guitar
Wynton Kelly, piano
Jimmy Cobb, drums
Paul Chambers, bass (tracks 1-3
) Ron Carter, bass (tracks 4-6)
Larry Ridley, bass (tracks 7-9, 13-17)
Herman Wright, bass (tracks 10-12)

Recorded at the Half Note jazz club in New York, NY in 1965

Digitally remastered

Please Note: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 48kHz, 24-bit. The provided 96kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

Wes Montgomery
was born in 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Wes was first introduced to guitar when his older brother, Monk Montgomery, bought him a four stringed guitar. He would eventually relocate to Akron, Ohio to attend high school. He started his music career in the mid 40’s, playing with the bandleader Lionel Hampton. During his time with Hampton, he would frequently fly back to Indianapolis to be with his family. He also held a day job as a welder, and would play gigs at night. Wes Montgomery eventually signed to Riverside Records where he would turn in some of his most seminal recordings. His style was one of the most unique guitar styles at the time. He would pluck the strings with his thumb, giving his tone a warm, muted quality, and he would extensively use octaves to give a deep sense of atmosphere. A few notable musicians that Wes played with are: Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb, Johnny Griffin, Tommy Flanagan, Percy Heath, Eddie Higgins, and Charles Mingus.

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Booklet for Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Stereo Remastered)