Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo [Remaster]

Performer: Jimmy Smith (Organ)
Artist: Clark Terry; Melba Liston; Phil Woods; Oliver Nelson; Ray Barretto; Richard Davis; Jerome Richardson
Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Producer: Creed Taylor
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: This is a special 20-bit digital master of the original tapes. Personnel: Jimmy Smith (organ); Wes Montgomery (guitar); Oliver Nelson (conductor); Jerry Dodgion (alto saxophone, clarinet, flute); Bob Ashton (tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto flute); Phil Woods, Danny Bank (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute); Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jimmy Maxwell, Joe Newman, Ernie Royal (trumpet); Jimmy Cleveland, Quinten Jackson, Melba Liston (trombone); Tony Studd, Dick Hixson (bass trombone); Jerome Richardson (clarinet, alto & tenor flutes); Richard Davis (bass); Grady Tate (drums); Ray Barretto (conga, jingle bells). Recorded at Van Gelder Recording Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on September 21, 23 & 28 1966. Includes liner notes by Michael Ullman. This is part of Verve's Master Edition series. This pleasant set pairs Hammond B-3 whiz Jimmy Smith with jazz guitar ace Wes Montgomery in a mixed bag of small-group and big-band sessions recorded September 23 and September 26, 1966. Highlights include the ten-minute opener, "Down by the Riverside," although at times the horns seem to get in the way of these two fine musicians. It's still a nice set, though, if not exactly essential for fans of either of these guys. ~ Steve Leggett Creed Taylor matched two of his most famous artists, Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, on this session (Montgomery's last for Verve), and the results are incendiary -- a near-ideal meeting of yin and yang. Smith comes at your throat with his big attacks and blues runs while Montgomery responds with rounder, smoother octaves and single notes that still convey much heat. They are an amazing pair, complementing each other, driving each other, using their bop and blues taproots to fuse together a sound. The romping, aggressive big band charts -- Oliver Nelson at his best -- on "Down by the Riverside" and "Night Train," and the pungently haunting chart for Gary McFarland's "13" (Death March)" still leave plenty of room for the soloists to stretch out. "James and Wes" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" include drummer Grady Tate and conguero Ray Barretto, with Smith's own feet working the organ pedals. The Verve Master Edition reissue also includes an alternate take of "O.G.D." with Tate and Barretto, a track previously surfacing on a long-gone Encyclopedia of Jazz anthology LP from the '60s -- a neat bonus that makes this the preferred version. ~ Richard S. Ginell Oliver Nelson arranged and conducted the tunes for this album; his three big-band charts essentially consist of a few heavy choruses up front, after which the horns get out of the way so Jimmy and Wes can do their their thing. Montgomery and Smith also do two quartet numbers with Grady Tate on drums and Ray Barretto on congas. As a result, there's plenty of real jazz here, unlike some other Creed Taylor-produced Montgomery records. In retrospect, it's surprising that this this meeting of the masters didn't happen sooner, as Montgomery and Smith were remarkably similar in some ways. Each man was considered a pioneer whose blinding technique defied all preconceptions of what was possible on his instrument. Moreover, each tempered a dizzying capacity for note-perfect bebop with a healthy shot of the blues. Montgomery's insistent riffing behind Smith's solo on "Down By the Riverside" is a case in point, as is his own impeccably constructed solo on the blues "James and Wes." At moments like these one can't help but wonder what anyone thought an extra fourteen horns could possibly add to this session. Oliver Nelson arranged and conducted the tunes for this album; his three big-band charts essentially consist of a few heavy choruses up front, after which the horns get out of the way so Jimmy and Wes can do their their thing. Montgomery and Smith also do two quartet numbers with Grady Tate on drums and Ray Barretto on congas. As a result, there's plenty of real jazz here, unlike some other Creed Taylor-produced Montgomery records. In retrospect, it's surprising that this this meeting of the masters didn't happen sooner, as Montgomery and Smith were remarkably similar in some ways. Each man was considered a pioneer whose blinding technique defied all preconceptions of what was possible on his instrument. Moreover, each tempered a dizzying capacity for note-perfect bebop with a healthy shot of the blues. Montgomery's insistent riffing behind Smith's solo on "Down By the Riverside" is a case in point, as is his own impeccably constructed solo on the blues "James and Wes." At moments like these one can't help but wonder what anyone thought an extra fourteen horns could possibly add to this session.

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