Wes Montgomery Live In '65 (Jazz Icons / Naxos) is appearing in many stores here. Being a big Wes fan I snapped it up. It's all shot in cool retro black and white it shows Wes in Europe working with three different pick up bands. It features great camera angles on Wes playing, and many lingering closeups of both hands. You get to see clearly Wes's trademarks, his right thumb of course, octave play and his command of chord melody, walking up and down the fretboard like a ladder with great economy.
Also very satisfying from a musician's point of view are Wes interacting with and teaching one of the bands some of his numbers, walking them through the song then, 2-3-4 wham, they jump into the song at full speed. Wes is in good humor throughout and is clearly 'The Boss'. One of the drummers has this habit of muttering and grunting during drum breaks and fills, Wes is clearly bemused and fascinated by this and the reactions are priceless.
No matter where the music is going Wes is relaxed and seems to have tons in reserve. I believe he uses this to drive the music, at times subtly rushing the beat which ignites the whole band as they unconsciously pour in more energy to keep up.
Several of my favorite Wes numbers are on here, Full House, Impressions, West Coast Blues, Twisted Blues and the amazing Four on Six. Four on Six is way too short so get the reissue CD Smokin' At The Half Note to experience the full glory. Highly recommended even if you're only a little bit into jazz, this has to be the coolest new DVD in the world at present.
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