''Fingerpickin' '' is an album by the American jazz guitarist
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...
.
Background
Most of the album was recorded in Indianapolis on December 30, 1957. From that session, six songs were released as the album ''The Montgomery Brothers and Five Others'' in 1957. The album featured Indianapolis native
Freddie Hubbard's recording debut. Three songs ("Stranger in Paradise", "Baubles, Bangles and Beads", and "Not Since Nineveh)" were recorded during a session in Los Angeles on April 22, 1958, and appeared on the album ''Kismet'' by The Mastersounds. Montgomery played solos only on these three songs. The Mastersounds was a group that included his brothers
Buddy and
Monk Montgomery. Wes Montgomery was invited to the session by
Richard Bock
Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – 1949) was an American sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright.
He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials,Lorado Taft''The History of American Sculptur ...
, the album's producer at
Pacific Jazz Records
Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz. It was founded in 1952 by producer Richard Bock (1927–1988) and drummer Roy Harte (1924–2003). Harte, in 1954, also co-found ...
. His composition "Fingerpickin'" appeared on the album.
[Ingram, Adrian. ''Wes Montgomery''. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England: Ashley Mark Pub. Co., 1985]
Reception
In a
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
review, music critic
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref>
Biography
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...
wrote: "This CD reissues the complete album (which usually has appeared in piecemeal fashion) and finds Wes already quite recognizable. The pretty standard hard bop music... Although this reissue on a whole is not essential, the music is generally enjoyable and the CD will fill some gaps in one's Wes Montgomery collection."
Track listing
Original release
''The Montgomery Brothers and Five Others''
# Sound Carrier – 6:55
# Lois Ann – 4:44
# Bud's Beaux Arts – 7:32
# Bock to Bock – 10:08
# All the Things You Are – 3:58
# Billie's Bounce – 4:41
Personnel
* Wes Montgomery – guitar
*
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet - Tracks 1-4
* Waymon Atkinson – tenor saxophone - Tracks 1-4
* Alonzo Johnson – tenor saxophone - Tracks 1-4
*
Buddy Montgomery
Charles "Buddy" Montgomery (January 30, 1930 – May 14, 2009) was an American jazz vibraphonist and pianist. He was the younger brother of Wes and Monk Montgomery, a guitarist and bassist respectively.
Buddy and brother Monk formed The Maste ...
– vibraphone - Tracks 1-6, 8-10
* Joe Bradley – piano - Tracks 1-5, 7
* Richard Crabtree – piano - Tracks 8-10
*
Monk Montgomery – electric bass
* Paul Parker – drums - Tracks 1-7
* Benny Barth – drums - Tracks 8-10
References
{{Authority control
1957 debut albums
Wes Montgomery albums
Pacific Jazz Records albums