Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series presents the most important and unique albums of jazz literature, performed by MAO. By learning and playing these compositions and arrangements, the musicians are paying tribute to the jazz legends and are undergoing an intense process of musical improvement. The band absorbs the material of the original recordings, sticking to the arrangements, forms and compositional features. As improvisation is the blood of jazz, solos are invented by the players at the moment. Due to the respect shown towards the original conceptions of the legendary composers and the level of craftsmanship known from Modern Art Orchestra, the Legendary Albums series both brings you the essence of jazz tradition and guarantees a fresh musical experience.

Legendary Albums – The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

Thanks to his studio recording made in January 1960, Wes Montgomery once and for all entered the cast of the high priests of jazz. They are the ones whose playing is endlessly copied and with whom audiences are unconditionally in love. All this against the  background that Montgomery had until then only been able to play the guitar after his physical day-to-day work, which he maintained in order to support his family. He was a self-taught guitar player, and only at that time had his two decades of experience of playing in clubs and concerts born fruit. This was only his second outing as a leader, which explains the somewhat ceremonious title, as if trying to introduce an unnoticed talent.
Montgomery’s playing is usually described by the octave playing, which he indeed perfected but he was not the one to have  introduced it, unlike the thumb usage, his plucking technique. On the record The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery half of the tracks are standards and the other half his originals. From the latter one definitely stands out, the first release of Four on Six, probably his most covered composition. The title refers to the two different approaches of the meter, 4/4 or 6/8, nevertheless a stinging intro consisting only of quint jumps really catches the listener’s attention. Two bluesy tunes, West Coast Blues and Sonny Rollins classic Airigin carry on this feel further. The guitarist gets wonderful support from pianist Tommy Flanagan, who is in explosive form, bass player Percy Heath, of Modern Jazz Quartet fame and his brother, drummer Albert Heath.