The Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes

Performer: Jimmy Smith (Organ)
Artist: Richard Davis; Grady Tate; Ray Barretto
Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Producer: Creed Taylor
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Jimmy Smith (organ); Wes Montgomery (guitar); Oliver Nelson (arranger); Grady Tate (drums); Ray Barretto (percussion). Recorded in New York on September 21 & 28, 1966. Originally issued on Verve (8766). Includes liner notes by Michael Zwerin and Gene Santoro. This is the sort of thing that will place high in the results of an internet search on the phrase "roots of acid jazz." Organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery were already titans of the jazz world before they teamed up, and FURTHER ADVENTURES, their second album together, enhanced the legends of both men. For the most part, it's a slow-burning affair full of simmering grooves, laid-back solos, and hypnotic riffs. The tone is exemplified by a mellow jazz/bossa nova version of the '60s pop hit "Call Me," digging deeply into a loungey feel. Interestingly, though, bop boss Montgomery pulls the bluesy Smith into his own axis on a version of "'Round Midnight" that finds Smith venturing into more harmonically adventurous territory than usual. This is the sort of thing that will place high in the results of an internet search on the phrase "roots of acid jazz." Organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery were already titans of the jazz world before they teamed up, and FURTHER ADVENTURES, their second album together, enhanced the legends of both men. For the most part, it's a slow-burning affair full of simmering grooves, laid-back solos, and hypnotic riffs. The tone is exemplified by a mellow jazz/bossa nova version of the '60s pop hit "Call Me," digging deeply into a loungey feel. Interestingly, though, bop boss Montgomery pulls the bluesy Smith into his own axis on a version of "'Round Midnight" that finds Smith venturing into more harmonically adventurous territory than usual. Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes picks up where Dynamic Duo left off, digging a little further into the one-time-only Wes Montgomery/Jimmy Smith sessions and coming up with more fine music -- mellower in general than Dynamic Duo but first-class nonetheless. Unlike most of the studio sessions from this time, Montgomery gets plenty of room for his single-string work as well as his famous octaves, and both techniques find him in full, mature bloom, needing fewer notes in which to say more (Smith, of course, is precisely the opposite). All but one of the tracks on the original LP find Smith and Montgomery interacting only with themselves, the drums of Grady Tate, and the congas of Ray Barretto; Roger Miller's "King of the Road" (not often covered by jazzers) and Montgomery's "O.G.D." (later known as "Road Song") come off best. Oliver Nelson's big band makes a sole appearance with a swaggering chart of "Milestones." Though Dynamic Duo is probably the priority purchase by a hairsbreadth margin, you'll need to have both that album and Further Adventures eventually. ~ Richard S. Ginell

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