Sponsored CD “Live In Europe”
Album Name: Wes Montgomery Live In Europe
Album Number: Philology W97-2
Release Country: Italy
Release Date: January 1992
Media: CD
You might be surprised, but the official title of the CD on the left is “Musica Jazz Wes Montgomery Live In Europe / PHILOLOGY W97-2.”
Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice a difference from the previously posted version—the jacket includes advertisements. The top part features the Italian music magazine “Musica Jazz,” and the bottom part displays the logo of the tobacco company “Philip Morris.”
This is explained by Gian Mario Maletto, the editor of “Musica Jazz.” He said, “Before Philology released this CD, we obtained short-term release rights, and Philip Morris sponsored it.” “Musica Jazz” ran a special feature on Wes Montgomery, which included this advertisement in their magazine.
Reflecting on it, I remember eagerly waiting for the CD after Philology announced a late January 1992 release. However, it was delayed by about a month. Additionally, when I saw the release announcement in some magazine, it also used this ad-filled jacket.
In February 1992, Philology began exporting the CD, and it reached Japan with a clean, ad-free jacket. This suggests that the version with the ads was likely released exclusively in Italy for one month and didn’t officially make its way to Japan.
Given this revelation, I’ve decided to treat the ad-filled jacket as the original and update the discography photo accordingly.