Behind the Scenes of “Wes Montgomery & The Wynton Kelly Trio: Maximum Swing”
The double CD set 《Wes Montgomery & The Wynton Kelly Trio/Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings/Resonance HCD-2067》 was released on November 22nd, followed by the triple LP 《Resonance HLP-9067》, limited to 4,000 copies, on November 24th. This time, without direct imports, the Japanese distributor King International released it with a Japanese commentary booklet for easier understanding. While the details are written in the booklet, I want to focus on the behind-the-scenes stories here.
The Encounter Between Wes and Kelly:
It appears that Buddy Montgomery first connected with Wynton Kelly. Buddy, a member of the Mastersounds, performed with the Miles Davis Sextet from January 11 to 21, 1960, at the Sutherland Hotel in Chicago. The ensemble included Miles Davis (leader), John Coltrane (ts), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b), Jimmy Cobb (dr), and Buddy on vibes. Meanwhile, Wes was already under contract with Riverside Records and participated in Nat Adderley’s 《Work Song》 and recorded his second leader album, 《The Incredible Jazz Guitar》, in New York from January 25 to 28.
After these activities settled, Monk and Buddy disbanded the Mastersounds on January 31, 1960, and formed the Montgomery Brothers, consisting of Wes Montgomery (g), Buddy Montgomery (p), Monk Montgomery (b), and Lawrence Marable (dr), starting their activities at the Hungry i in San Francisco. Despite Buddy’s brief participation with the Miles Davis Sextet until early March, it is believed that his connection with Kelly was established during this period.
In December 1961, Wes, a big fan of Milt “Bags” Jackson, was invited to record by Jackson’s enthusiastic request. The rhythm section of Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, and Philly Joe Jones for that recording was rumored to have been arranged by some Montgomery fans. However, Keepnews stated, “Pairing Wes with my favorite rhythm section resulted in the best outcome,” indicating that Keepnews orchestrated the meeting of Wes and Kelly.
Wes’s Appearances at Half Note:
According to DownBeat magazine’s concert information, Wes Montgomery Quartet was scheduled to perform at the Half Note from November 30 to December 5, 1960. Another entry states that Wes Montgomery would perform at the Half Note from May ** to June 4, 1961. Although Wes was part of the Montgomery Brothers during these periods, other club information suggests he performed with other musicians. In DownBeat’s 1964 concert information, Wes was noted to perform at the Half Note from June 19 to July 2, likely with Mel Rhyne (org) and Sam Jones (dr).
Discography Records:
From February 12 to September 17, 1965, Wes’s performances at the Half Note were mostly aired live on “Portrait in Jazz” shows on “WABC-FM,” except for 【C】, which is the renowned straight-ahead jazz album 《Smokin’ at The Half Note/Verve V6-8633》. The newly released “Maximum Swing” CD set features 17 previously unreleased tracks.
Resonance HCD-2067
TOKO WM94-12
JAZZ on JAZZ 244555
Tracks from 【CD1】 and the first three tracks of 【CD2】 were based on air-check recordings. The final five tracks on 【CD2】 were provided by our fan club to Resonance Records’ Zev Feldman. These five tracks were believed to be audience or staff recordings. However, mastering engineer Matthew Lutthans noted in the liner notes that these were not mere portable recorder captures but recorded with some expertise using two omnidirectional mics set at least 4-5 meters apart, suggesting a knowledgeable person’s involvement.
I obtained the air-check tapes of all “WABC-FM” broadcasts around 1985. Upon meeting Zev Feldman at a party in 2016, he inquired if I had a collection of Half Note recordings. After lending him my collection for a year, he later requested “those five tracks” for a complete release of Wes and Kelly’s Half Note recordings. Despite initial plans to release them through Verve/Polydor Records, negotiations failed due to my recordings not being the original masters. Feldman eventually sought master tapes from collectors across the US but ultimately asked me for the dubbed copies.
I had planned to release these five tracks in the 1990s under the title 《Cherokee/Wes Montgomery》 but faced obstacles from JASRAC regarding performer rights. Consequently, the project was shelved until now.
Discography Compliance:
As a discographer of Wes Montgomery, I adhere to listing only the earliest and first releases worldwide. Including all subsequent releases is impractical and would require constant updates, which is an overwhelming task. While I respect copyright and neighboring rights, I believe these issues should be considered separately from discography, which should focus solely on facts. Therefore, I do not plan to revise the discography currently published on my site. I will continue to convey only the facts.