Verve

Considering that he just may be the most influential jazz guitarist ever, Wes Montgomery wasn’t in the spotlight for that long. Although he’d been active since the late ‘40s, his career didn’t really pick up until 1958, when he signed with Riverside, recording there primarily with small groups. Most would argue that Montgomery’s most important work came during that period, but the roughly two years that he spent with Verve, 1964-66 – the output chronicled in its entirety on these eight albums, spread across five discs, with bonus tracks – is certainly worthy of reconsideration. With Verve, Montgomery expanded his reach, often recording with orchestras, but he also created some of his most durable, funky work during that time – best heard on 1965’s Smokin’ at the Half Note with the Wynton Kelly Trio and on the pair of albums that he cut with organ giant Jimmy Smith. Those two – Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo and Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes – beautifully demonstrate Montgomery’s single-note technique and influential use of octaves, and his inherent soulfulness. Montgomery wrapped up his career at A&M before passing away in 1968 at the age of 45. In his decade as a recording artist, he established himself as an immortal, and if these mid-period works aren’t his best known, then they’re still a vital part of the story.