Goin' Out Of My Head

Performer: Wes Montgomery
Artist: Donald Byrd; Jimmy Cleveland; Ernie Royal; Candido; George Duvivier; Herbie Hancock; Phil Woods; Grady Tate
Producer: Creed Taylor
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Wes Montgomery (guitar); Jerry Dodgion (alto saxophone, piccolo, flute, clarinet); Phil Woods (alto saxophone, clarinet); Romeo Penque (tenor saxophone, piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn); Dan Bank (baritone saxophone, flute, alto flute, bass clarinet); Bob Ashton (saxophone, flute, clarinet); Donald Byrd, Joe Newman, Ernie Royal (trumpet); Wayne Andre, Jimmy Cleveland, Quentin Jackson, Danny Moore, Tony Studd (trombone); Herbie Hancock, Roger Kellaway (piano); George Duvivier (bass); Grady Tate, Sol Grubin (drums); Candido Camero (congas). Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on December 7, 8 & 22, 1965. Originally released on Verve (8642). Includes liner notes by Orrin Keepnews. Personnel: Phil Woods (alto, clarinet); Bob Ashton (flute, clarinet, saxophone); Romeo Penque (flute); Jerry Dodgion (tenor saxophone); Donald Byrd, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman (trumpet); Danny Moore , Jimmy Cleveland, Quentin Jackson, Wayne Andre, Tony Studd (trombone); Herbie Hancock, Roger Kellaway (piano); George Duvivier (bass guitar); Dan Bank, Grady Tate (drums); Condido (conga drum). Guitarist Wes Montgomery had a hit with this version of "Goin' Out of My Head" but musically it is little more than a pleasant melody statement. Accompanied by a wasted all-star big band given dull arrangements by Oliver Nelson, Montgomery mostly sticks to playing themes, even those as dull as "Chim Chim Cheree" and "It Was a Very Good Year." Recordings like this one disheartened the jazz world but made him a household name and a staple on AM radio. Heard three decades later, the recording is at its best when serving as innocuous background music. ~ Scott Yanow This is standard mid-60s pop fare. ~ Ron Wynn Creed Taylor produced album and Grammy Award winner that marked the beginning of Montgomery's pop success. Large band with arrangements by Oliver Nelson. ~ Michael Erlewine. In his liner notes, Orrin Keepnews, Wes Montgomery's first producer and former boss at the Riverside label states that it was arranger Oliver Nelson's goal with GOIN' OUT OF MY HEAD to present Montgomery's guitar as a melody instrument, rather than as a soloist. This certainly happens on the ballads that make up at least half this set. It's probably just as well that doing so finally sold some records and gave the guitar-playing father of six a more solid income for the last few years of his life. However, most Montgomery aficionados still usually just want to hear him blow. And there's some solid jazz to be found here. Not surprisingly, it happens the most on the Montgomery originals "Boss City," Naptown Blues," and "Twisted Blues," but Montgomery also gets into it for real with the rhythm section on "Chim Chim Cheree"; after the orchestrations are over, he careens off Grady Tate's insistent drumming with exuberance and abandon.

Wes Montgomery's warm sound and hard-driving swing are, for many listeners, the epitome of jazz guitar. Rising from relative obscurity in the late 1950s, he became a huge sensation in the '60s, to the point that his recording career veered increasingly into commercial realms. Montgomery could tear off exhilarating solos with effortless grace, and in his relatively brief career he left an enduring legacy of brilliant playing.

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