The Complete Riverside Recordings is a box set of American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery's early recordings on the Riverside label. It is a twelve-CD box set and was released in 1992. It contains 157 songs and includes 15 previously unissued performances, six re-edited versions of previously issued numbers and 29 alternate takes. The extensive liner notes by producer Orrin Keepnews and Jim Ferguson, session notes, and photographs. Keepnews and Ferguson received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Album Notes.
The collection covers Montgomery's recordings from 1959 until late 1963 before he moved to the Verve label. The recordings made during this period are considered by fans and jazz historians to be his best and most influential.All About Jazz biography of Wes Montgomery. Retrieved November 2009. It includes recordings with his siblings Monk and Buddy, Tommy Flanagan, Nat and Cannonball Adderley, Milt Jackson, George Shearing, Johnny Griffin and many others.
Reception
In his Allmusic review, critic Scott Yanow stated, "All in all, there is a tremendous amount of rewarding performances included in this essential set, most of which show why Wes Montgomery is still considered one of the all-time great jazz guitarists."
Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Zan Stewart praised the box-set, writing "Time has done little to diminish the elegant charm that Montgomery offered in his ardently swinging improvisations. On a ballad such as "Born to be Blue," he could be relaxed and luxuriant. For a blues, he was straightforward and melodic, never opting for funk cliches, while on the up tempos he displayed a rippling muscularity... a must-have for the jazz guitar enthusiast."
Personnel Wes Montgomery – guitar Cannonball Adderley – alto saxophone Nat Adderley – cornet Ray Barretto – conga George Brown – drums Bobby Thomas – drums Jimmy Cobb – drums Louis Hayes – drums Lex Humphries – drums Albert "Tootie" Heath – drums Walter Perkins – drums Osie Johnson – drums Ricardo Chimelis – bongos, timbales Paul Parker – drums Armando Peraza – conga Ray Brown – bass Ron Carter – bass Paul Chambers – bass Milt Hinton – bass Percy Heath – bass Monk Montgomery – bass Sam Jones – bass Kenny Burrell – guitar James Clay – flute, tenor sax Victor Feldman – piano, vibraphone George Shearing – piano Bobby Timmons – piano Tommy Flanagan – piano Buddy Montgomery – piano Wynton Kelly – piano Barry Harris – piano Dick Hyman – piano, celeste Milt Jackson – vibraphone Hank Jones – piano, celeste Melvin Rhyne – organ Joe Gordon – trumpet Harold Land – tenor saxophone Leo Kruczek – violin Harry Lookofsky – violin David Nadien – violin Gene Orloff – violin Raoul Poliakin – violin Samuel Rand – violin Sylvan Shulman – violin Mac Ceppos – violin Winston Collymore – violin Arnold Eidus – violin Paul Winter – violin Isadore Zir – violin Burt Fisch – viola Ralph Hersh – viola Alfred Brown – viola George Ricci – cello Kermit Moore – cello Lucien Schmit – cello Charles McCracken – cello player Gloria Agostini – harp Margaret Rose – harp Phil Bodner – woodwind Production notes: Orrin Keepnews – producer, liner notes Jim Ferguson – liner notes Jimmy Jones – arranger, conductor
References