CD/Download/Album News

Wes Montgomery: Echoes of Indiana Avenue

SOURCE:

JAMBASE,

Published: 2011-12-17

FIRST FULL ALBUM OF PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD MONTGOMERY MUSC IN OVER 25 YEARS

With a lot of sleuthing and a team of experts on the case, long lost tapes of Wes Montgomery have been discovered and restored. Resonance Records will release Echoes of Indiana Avenue—the first full album of previously unheard Montgomery music in over 25 years—on March 6, 2012, which would have been Montgomery's 88th birthday.

Over a year and a half in the making, the release will provide a rare, revealing glimpse of a bona fide guitar legend. The tapes are the earliest known recordings of Montgomery as a leader, pre-dating his auspicious 1959 debut on Riverside Records. The album showcases Montgomery in performance from 1957-1958 at nightclubs in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, as well as rare studio recordings. The release containes previously unseen photographs and insightful essays by noted music writers and musicians alike, including guitarist Pat Martino and Montgomery's brothers Buddy and Monk.

On this scintillating discovery, Montgomery plays it strictly straight ahead, swinging with a momentum and ferocity that is positively visceral—a clear display of Montgomery's bebop side. Listening to these recordings only reaffirms how Montgomery exerted such a profound influence over generations of guitarists—from George Benson, Pat Martino and Joe Pass to John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Kevin Eubanks, and Russell Malone to Kurt Rosenwinkel.

In addition to the fully restored music comes in a 24-page deluxe digipak showcasing rare family photographs that are being seen for the very first time. There are also some of the most classic earlier photos of Montgomery taken by iconic jazz photographer, Duncan Scheidt. Veteran jazz journalists Dan Morgenstern and Bill Milkowski contribute essays, as do jazz guitar great Pat Martino and Indiana-based jazz educator Dr. David N. Baker.

In addition to its release via physical CD and digital formats, Resonance has created a hand-numbered, hand-assembled LP edition pressed by audiophile embraced Record Technology, Inc. (RTI) and with a deluxe gatefold LP jacket by Stoughton Press. The two 12" LP's were mastered by the legendary Bernie Grundman at 45 RPM for the best sound. Resonance is also offering a free digital booklet with purchase where available (which will contain all of the content in the physical editions).

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