Wes Montgomery / Wynton Kelly Trio

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Montgomery died in 1968.

Wynton Kelly died in 1971.

The Penthouse (in Seattle’s Pioneer Square) was demolished in 1968.

A parking lot took its place.

Talk about paving paradise.

John Coltrane’s performance in September of ‘65 was a watershed for the club which is also remembered for shows by the likes of Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and Stan Getz.

Which brings us to John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery, an icon in jazz guitar who followed in the footsteps of Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian.

Montgomery with his unique technique of using the side of his thumb to pluck the strings became an influence on many succeeding guitarists. In fact, his influence could be said to have spawned the genres of fusion and smooth jazz.

Montgomery had two noteworthy performances at the Penthouse in April of 1966 along with the Wynton Kelly Trio.

Fortunately for jazz aficionados, and music lovers everywhere, these performances were recorded on tape.

Smokin’ at the Penthouse was released in May of 2017 and is available on both CD and in digital format.

Modern day jazz guitar icon Pat Metheny writes, “The news that another example of that band in action had surfaced was headline news for those of us in the hard-core Wes community. The incredible revelations contained in Resonance’s previous releases of Wes’s early work have been thrilling. This release adds yet another dimension to the almost impossibly brief ten years that Wes was the jazz world’s most renowned guitarist, particularly to completists like me who want to hang on to and cherish every note Wes played.”

This 10-track album is indeed a “smokin’” musical exchange between Wynton and Wes, swinging with fire-cracker energy. The Wynton Kelly trio opened each set of the 9-night engagement with a couple of tunes before Wes joined them on stage. The album opens with “There Is No Greater Love,” an upbeat rendition of Isham Jones’s well known jazz standard. Wynton glides through seven choruses filled with his trademark lyrical legato lines, with bluesy twists and turns along the way. His joyous playing is apparent from the start. In an interview with Kenny Baron included in the liner notes, he says, “Wynton was kind of in a class by himself. His touch, his feeling, his sense of time, sense of rhythm… For me it was just very, very unique.” Often underappreciated as a player, despite his years with Miles Davis, Wynton remains an iconic figure, for jazz fans and next generation of jazz players.

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