''Portrait of Wes'' is an album by the American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

, released in 1966.

History

''Portrait of Wes'' was Montgomery's second to last recording for Riverside Records; his performances in October and November 1963 were issued as two albums, ''Portrait of Wes'' and '' Guitar on the Go''. Montgomery, who had worked with

Melvin Rhyne Melvin Rhyne (October 12, 1936 – March 5, 2013), was a jazz organist best known for his work with Wes Montgomery. Biography Melvin Rhyne was born in Indianapolis in 1936 and started playing the piano shortly after. At 19 years old, Rhyne s ...

for his first recordings for Riverside, worked with him again for his last Riverside performance. ''Portrait of Wes'' was reissued in the

Original Jazz Classics Original Jazz Classics (or OJC) is a record label that was founded in 1983 as an imprint of Fantasy Records. Under this name original editions of jazz LPs have been reissued on CD and LP, and formerly on cassette as well. The recordings in the ...

series, with additional alternate takes.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

jazz critic

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

wrote: "The brilliant guitarist is in fine form on these appealing tunes with the highlights including 'Freddie the Freeloader,' 'Blues Riff' and 'Moanin.'"

Track listing

Original issue by Riverside

Side 1: #" Freddie the Freeloader" (

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

) – 5:14 #"Lolita" (

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Influenced by Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, Harris in turn influenc ...

) – 6:32 #"Movin' Along" KA "Blues Riff"(

) – 6:16 Side 2: #"Dangerous" ( Montgomery) – 7:03 #"Yesterday's Child" (Charles DeForest) – 4:14 #"Moanin'" (

Bobby Timmons Robert Henry Timmons (December 19, 1935 – March 1, 1974) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for two periods (July 1958 to September 1959; February 1960 to June 1961), between which he ...

) – 5:48

Original Jazz Classics reissue

Freddie Freeloader "Freddie Freeloader" is a composition by Miles Davis and is the second track on his 1959 album ''Kind of Blue''. The piece takes the form of a twelve-bar blues in B, but the chord over the final two bars of each chorus is an A7, not the tradition ...

" (

) – 5:16 #"Lolita" (

) – 6:36 #"Blues Riff" (

) – 6:18 #"Blues Riff" lternate take(

) – 8:14 #"Dangerous" (

) – 7:03 #"Yesterday's Child" (Charles DeForest) – 4:14 #"Moanin'" (

) – 5:48 #"Moanin'" lternate take(Timmons) – 4:35

Personnel

– guitar *

– organ * George Brown – drums Production *

Orrin Keepnews Orrin Keepnews (March 2, 1923 – March 1, 2015) was an American jazz writer and record producer known for founding Riverside Records and Milestone Records, for freelance work, and for his work at other labels. Biography Early life Keepnews ...

– producer * Ray Fowler – engineer * Sam Alexander – album design * Carl Grassini – cover painting

References

External links

Jazz Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait Of Wes 1963 albums Wes Montgomery albums Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews Riverside Records albums