Wes Montgomery
Full House

THE REVIEW

For those who want to learn to play the guitar, there’s nothing worse than an album like this. The music it exudes is so vast, the ease with which Wes quickly bends his thumb down on his recording made in '62, is accompanied by a respectable rhythm section: piano/bass/drums entrusted to Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb (Davis' rhythm section of the time!) and a fiercely bluesy Johnny Griffin on sax. Of all the vast discography of Wes, either as a leader or as a guest, this is perhaps one of the most representative examples of his art and of how one can find a decidedly personal vein, to reach great heights even on an instrument partly limited like the guitar, both in terms of necessary fingering to offer adequate harmonic coverage and for the lesser possibilities of dynamic and overall expression compared to the piano. Well, necessity is a virtue, and the man triumphs over the means and is then engraved in the history of contemporary music.

There are several versions of this album, including one containing alternate takes of two tracks. In the Riverside box set (very expensive but highly recommended for those unfamiliar with the artist), there are three more takes from this session: “Cariba”, “Born to be blue”, and “Blue ‘n’ boogie”. It’s worth getting the album with the alternate takes because in every performance, Wes reveals hidden treasures and precise jewels of his great musician's mind. Wes, brother of Buddy, a gritty and sanguine pianist sought after as a partner by George Shearing, Wes brother of Monk, the world's first bassist to play the solid body Fender Precision bass in an orchestra (Lionel Hampton): “Turn it up, Monk, turn it up, for crying out loud.... In the end, he remains the most famous of the three and the interpreter of an entirely new school of guitar technique that has made followers.

Both this album and the live at the Half Note are two shining examples of how to entertain people and simultaneously raise the bar of jazz art and future guitar technique by a good twenty centimeters in just a couple of nights recorded on tape in '62! But don't worry: you can also whistle along while shaving in the morning. It's not forbidden; it’s merely opposed and ridiculed by the children, who, as we know, act out of stubbornness. Ears that will never understand. Perhaps. From the new generation, I personally have only a couple of nephews on the right track; one of them is eighteen and asks me “...uncle, can you copy this and that...” and plays in a band doing covers of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Yes, and Genesis!!! Better than a lot of plastic rubbish around. He'll make it...

The tracks:

1. Full House A piece played on a ternary, with the theme stated in unison between sax and guitar. Kelly's piano, as a discreet background comping, serves as a springboard for a guitar solo that starts like a spring and marks the beginning of the swing and the trip of this work. Beer and closed eyes. Let yourself be lulled by these logical sequences of notes.
2. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face Piece performed solo. No tempo, for an example of solitary and Spanish-sounding jazz guitar. It remains a classic example of how a jazz guitarist can undertake dangerous raider incursions into other people's territories and emerge clearly with a great deal of respect and much melody in the bag. Pure gold.
3. Blue'N'Boogie A piece of about ten minutes of pure interpretive vigor. Wynton Kelly indulges in an unusual style very similar to ragtime-stride piano, with an incessant foundation that lifts you from your chair and makes you spread your lips in a wide smile. Griffin holds his own.
4. Cariba Even tempo but played “in two,” as a Latin piece should REALLY be played. This is not written on the staff: you either have it in your blood or you don’t. A short and intense double bass solo by Mr. PC, a prologue to the subsequent development; sunny pace full of a desire to entertain the Tsubo club audience in Berkeley.
5. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 1)
6. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 2) Swing from the first to the last note on an engaging medium tempo. High-class evolutions by Griffin, a beautiful alternate take as well. It's often hard to say what leads to the attribution of the “title track” designation; nevertheless, years later, you often find all of them (if not three!) published for your enthusiast's joy.
7. S. O. S. (Take 3)
8. S. O. S. (Take 2) A theme of complexity, impossible length and speed; played in unison by sax and guitar to introduce a true show by Griffin and Montgomery. “Four on four” of the drumming towards the end between the group and Jimmy Cobb to let you know where the atomic generator of such a group resides. Repetition of the theme to leave you speechless and make you study scales and theory. Immediately. Probably Tofani switched to Hare Krishna after listening to this album. Just kidding, of course: Tofani's solo on “Nervi scoperti” is one of the most beautiful pieces ever recorded by an electric guitar on a disc in the entire history of contemporary music: imagination, ante-litteram sweep, and a sense of progressive solo construction. Stop the digressions. I just miss Tofani and his “genius interruptus”. ; -)
9. Born To Be Blue A slow theme where Wes displays his ability as an “entertainer – a singer with notes”. If it's hard to play fast and precise, it's even harder to play a slow piece and say something meaningful and original. Holding notes with a semi-acoustic guitar, which doesn't have much sustain or too much reverb on the amp, can be a real suicide attempt for anyone who isn’t a great guitarist. The theme is beautiful, and Kelly intervenes in the second part to provide an example of how one can be a contemporary of Bill Evans, play elbow to elbow on the same records (Kind of blue), undergo its effect, metabolize and spit out a touch more bluesy but very intelligent and spot-on pianism in context. I personally undeservingly play in a guitar trio named “The WESterns” (not after John Wayne, of course!) where the guitarist clearly reveals the origins of his technique.

If you have doubts about how to invest a bit of euros and want something that pleases the ear and is also perfect from a qualitative point of view, both for instrumental technique and for homogeneous compactness and group proposal, this album may be the temporary solution to the dilemma. For about two days. In a few days, I'm heading to the sea, guys, and if I don't drown, we'll hear from each other in July; I’m packing... Geoff Keezer, Ben Allison, a bit of Evans, Jarrett, and then something Italian: Bersani, Fossati, and... Raf (yes, Raf! Don’t break my balls too, as I already have to endure the mockery of friends!!!) all on an old CD player that seems now out of fashion and replaced by these damn MP3s. However, this “bible” of guitar and school of good jazz taste which is "Full House" I'm definitely taking it along, to fill the house with music.