Never enough Wes Montgomery. A full two minutes in the box by yourself if you do not own at least one of his iconic jazz releases. Craft Recordings has been one of the most impressive labels over the past 3 years with its focus on jazz reissues including some of the best sounding John Coltrane and Miles Davis albums you can find anywhere; and they are certainly not overpriced. In celebration of Riverside Records 70th Anniversary, Craft Recordings is releasing Wes Montgomery’s The Complete Full House Recordings and we suggest you pre-order before they are all gone.
Craft Recordings honors the inimitable Wes Montgomery on his centennial with an expanded edition of his classic 1962 LP, Full House. Captured at Berkeley, CA’s Tsubo coffee house, the album marks the influential jazz guitarist’s sole live session for Riverside Records and features stellar performances by all, including tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb.
Presented as The Complete Full House Recordings, this brand-new collection has been remastered from the original analog tapes by Joe Tarantino, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Germany’s Optimal Media, the 3-LP set is housed in a gatefold jacket, complete with new liner notes by journalist and author Bill Milkowski (Downbeat, Jazziz, Guitar Player).
Set for release on November 10th and available for pre-order today, The Complete Full House Recordings can also be found on 2-CD as well as in 24/192 hi-res and standard digital.
Rounding out all formats is a variety of alternate takes and outtakes, including two previously unreleased performances: an alternate take of Montgomery’s “S.O.S.” as well as the complete unedited master take of “Full House,” featuring Montgomery’s originally played (and previously replaced) guitar solo restored.
Taking place on June 25, 1962, the session paired Montgomery with Chicago tenor saxophonist Johnny “The Little Giant” Griffin, alongside the Wynton Kelly Trio (pianist Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb—all three of whom made up Miles Davis’ celebrated rhythm section). On the program was a variety of bop, blues and ballads.
In his liner notes, Milkowski writes, “Full House captures Wes at the top of his game as he electrifies the audience of students, jazz fans and hipsters with his inventive and inherently melodic improvisations, propelled by the superbly swinging rhythm section.” Both Montgomery and Griffin, he adds, offer powerhouse performances, with “a take-no-prisoners approach on the individual solos.”
The original, six-track album (released in November 1962) opens with the sprightly Montgomery original “Full House.” The waltz-time tune showcases the guitarist’s use of octaves, which he sprinkles throughout. Milkowski praises, “The vocabulary is refreshingly modern, full of surprising filigrees and inventive harmonic implications as the piece evolves. Wes… play[s] cat-and-mouse with his own facile single-note lines before going all-in on the parallel octaves.” Griffin, meanwhile, brings “pungent tones, hip phrasing, and a kind of inherent swagger that reflects his own bad-ass persona. By the five-minute mark, the Little Giant is pouring it on, nonchalantly double-timing the pulse while digging deep for blue notes.”
Where to buy: $75.98 at Amazon (pre-order now, available November 10, 2023)
Related: Discover more vinyl reissues from Craft Recordings.
