Resonance Records is proud to announce the first official
release of Wes Montgomery - In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording which
captures the jazz guitar legend in concert during his only tour of Europe on
the night of March 27, 1965 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France.
Considered perhaps the greatest live Wes Montgomery performance ever, In Paris
is being released in partnership with the Institut national de l'audiovisuel
(INA) with remastered high-resolution audio transferred directly from the
original tapes, and will mark the first time the Montgomery Estate will be paid
for this recording, which has been available as various bootlegs since the
1970s. This is also Resonance's second album released in partnership with INA
in a series of ORTF recordings, following 2016's critically acclaimed Larry
Young - In Paris: The ORTF Recordings.
In Paris:
The Definitive ORTF Recording will be released as a limited-edition,
hand-numbered (of 3,000) 180-gram 2LP gatefold set exclusively for Record Store
Day's Black Friday Event on November 24, 2017. Mastered by LP mastering icon
Bernie Grundman and pressed by Record Technology Inc. (RTI). The album features
an all-star band with venerable post-bop pianist Harold Mabern, bassistArthur
Harper and bebop drummerJimmy Lovelace, along with special guest tenor
saxophonist Johnny Griffin (who played on another classic live Wes recording
from 1962, Full House).
The
beautifully designed CD package by longtime Resonance designer Burton Yount
includes an extensive 32-page booklet with stunning archival photos from the
actual concert by famed French music photographer Jean-Pierre Leloir; essays
from Wes Montgomery scholar and director of jazz studies at Rutgers University
in New Jersey, Vincent Pelote, the Chargé de Mission Pascal Rozat from INA, and
Resonance producer Zev Feldman; plus interviews with pianistHarold Mabern and
contemporary jazz guitar icon Russell Malone. The deluxe LP edition also
includes a collector set of 6 Jean-Pierre Leloir postcards.
THE
BACKSTORY:
Wes
Montgomery European audiences had eagerly wanted to see Wes Montgomery perform
live, but his severe fear of flying had kept him in the states, where he played
in mostly local clubs in and around Indianapolis. This 1965 European tour was
the only overseas trip he would ever make, just after his forty-second
birthday, and three years before his untimely death. According to Harold
Mabern, this rhythm section was a relatively new group, having only played a
handful of gigs prior to their European tour, but they were very tight and had
a great time. "Most of the stuff was spur of the moment; that's what made
it fresh then, and it's still fresh now. That's why it sounds happy - because
we were happy, and it was all about the music."
Feldman
returned to France in 2012 to explore the Office of French Radio and Television
(ORTF) archives, which are overseen by the French National Audiovisual
Institute (INA), and learned of countless recordings in their vaults
documenting some of the greatest American jazz musicians who lived in - or
visited - Paris in the 1960s, including Larry Young, Wes Montgomery and many
others. "When we assessed what the ORTF archives had to offer, it was
clear to us that the first never-before-released Larry Young material in nearly
40 years was a top priority. Then there was the legendary Wes Montgomery in Paris
concert recording, which I knew had been only available as bootlegs for
decades. In some ways, I think of Resonance as the house that Wes Montgomery
and Bill Evans built, so we are deeply indebted to protecting those artist's
legacies and we do whatever we can to ensure that any newly discovered music
from them be presented in the best possible light, and of course, legally with
all parties being compensated appropriately."
THE MUSIC:
This
10-track recording, captured a mere three months before the classic Smokin' at
the Half Note (Verve 1965), starts off with Wes Montgomery's original
composition "Four on Six." In the album notes, Vincent Pelote
describes Wes' playing as shining with a "fiery solo that establishes the
routine that Montgomery follows throughout this concert: single notes, followed
by octaves, then those amazing block chords." Standing by him on the
piano, Harold Mabern adds "crashing chords and Phineas Newborn-like runs
up and down the keyboard."
The set
consists of many familiar tunes Wes had recorded before on his iconic Riverside
studio sessions including "Jingles" and "'Round Midnight"
from The Wes Montgomery Trio in 1959, and "Twisted Blues" from So
Much Guitar! in 1961, but at the 1,900 seat Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, we hear
Wes stretch out like never before in front of a ravenous audience. Russell
Malone commented in his liner note interview, "I thought I knew Wes,
because I had listened to a lot of the stuff that he had done on Riverside, and
some of the commercial outings. But when I heard him stretching out like that,
I'm like, 'this man is on some other stuff here!' That Paris recording is so
powerful…"
Harold
Mabern's original composition "To Wane," a tribute to the great
saxophonist Wayne Shorter, will knock your socks off with the lightening speed
soloing. Mabern noted that he lifted the melody from Shorter's solo on
"Alamode" from the 1961 Impulse! album, Art Blakey!!!!! Jazz
Messengers!!!!!: "he started out with a very melodic, lyrical way of
playing, and I took part of that and turned it into my song, and I called it
'To Wane,' meaning to wane like the moon."
Throughout
this concert bassist Arthur Harper anchors the solidly swinging rhythm section
and the re-mastering of the original tapes on this first-time, legally issued
release, allows the contribution of the bass to be properly heard for the very
first time. Jimmy Lovelace, a longtime fixture at Smalls jazz club in New York
City, tastefully propels the band from the drum chair.
Wes
Montgomery
BOOTLEG
RECORDINGS:
As mentioned
previously, bootleg issues of this concert have been available since the 1970s,
and in all these years the Montgomery family has never received any payments
whatsoever. In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording is the only official and
definitive release of this recording and marks the first time the Montgomery
Estate and other musicians on the recording or their estates will be
compensated. Resonance is on a mission to combat this serious bootlegging
problem by reclaiming and releasing official versions of important jazz
recordings where all rights are cleared and all parties are compensated
accordingly. Resonance EVP/GM and producer Zev Feldman says, "We are
honored to have had the trust and support of the Montgomery Estate for the past
seven years and it's so gratifying to know that the family is finally being
compensated for this recording after so many years of illegal copies on the
market." Previous bootleg issues of this concert have not only had
inferior audio quality and packaging, but have also mislabeled several song
titles including "The Girl Next Door," "Jingles," "To
Wane," and "Twisted Blues" (incorrectly titled "To
Django," "Mister Walker," "To When" and "Wes'
Rhythm" respectively).
"For
five decades, one of my father's greatest live recordings has been available
only by way of various bootleg releases from which my family has not received
one dime. This is a tragedy. I'm so thankful that a record label like Resonance
Records is around to stand up for what's right and protect the intellectual
property and legacy of musicians like my father and many others." - Robert
Montgomery (Son of Wes Montgomery and Representative of the Montgomery Estate)
"The
Recording Academy is a fierce advocate for protecting creators and their
intellectual property. The decades-long exploitation of recordings such as the
live Wes Montgomery recording from Paris via bootleg releases is nothing short
of a tragedy. We applaud organizations such as Resonance Records that seek to
right the wrongs of the past and set a shining example of how to do justice to
an artist's legacy." - The Recording Academy
"The
Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA) is a tireless proponent of
protecting the rights of artists and their valuable intellectual property. The
problem of illegal bootlegging - the distribution of unauthorized recording of
live performances - has been a scourge on performers for decades, affecting
artists of past and present - including icons such as Wes Montgomery and
countless others. These unauthorized recordings rob performers of their ability
to control their art, while the sale and distribution of those illegal
recordings profits only the thieves - with nothing going to the creators.
Today's vast legitimate music marketplace gives consumers a superior
alternative to the black market of bootlegging. We encourage fans to get their
favorite tunes in ways that support and respect all music creators." -
Brad Buckles, EVP, Anti-Piracy, RIAA
It's
incredible to think that Wes only started playing guitar at the age of
nineteen, and he had too short a window in his life to share his immense talent
with the world. Guitarist Russell Malone eloquently said it's like he was
"selected to come here and just mess up everybody's head. To shake up the
world, and then once they were through, whatever or whoever is controlling,
they say 'well done, that's enough, let's go.' He was a special person."
Track
Listing:
Disc One:
Four on Six
(6:35)
Impressions
(10:03)
The Girl
Next Door (6:44)
Here's That
Rainy Day (8:31)
Jingles
(12:34)
Disc Two:
To Wane
(11:09)
Full House
(10:48)
'Round
Midnight (9:26)
Blue 'N
Boogie/West Coast Blues (13:14)
Twisted
Blues (13:43)
Personnel:
Wes
Montgomery - guitar
Harold
Mabern - piano
Arthur
Harper - bass
Jimmy
Lovelace - drums
*Special
Guest Johnny Griffin - tenor saxophone
("Full
House", "'Round Midnight" and "Blue 'N Boogie/West Coast
Blues")
