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Listening to Wes Montgomery is like experiencing the first warm rain in spring. The drops may refresh, but thereโs something melancholy about it. The end of winter is still an end, even if the wonder of the seasonal change deserves welcome. Montgomeryโs notes pour down from his guitar in showers. They are more of a stream than a torrent. The appropriately titled standard, Jimmy Van Heusenโs โHereโs That Rainy Dayโ from the newly issued Live in Paris album originally recorded at the Champs-Elysees back on March 27, 1965, provides an excellent example of Montgomeryโs fluid style. Heโs ably backed by a trio of top-notch players: Harold Mabern (piano), Arthur Harper (bass) and Jimmy Lovelace (drums), but they take far too many long solos. The guitar is where the action is.
Montgomery takes turns using different syncopations, riffs and picking styles to keep the song moving forward. Heโs not just playing with technical finesse. Heโs creating a mood. Despite the general upbeat tempo, Montgomeryโs not putting a happy musical face. This is more serious, in a reflective way. This music would go well with a bottle of red wine and a cigarette, but if you were with a partner, this would be your break up song.
Who knows what Montgomery thought when he played guitar, but the general atmospherics of this gig suggests an attentive crowd. There is a silence, a reverence of a sort when the band gets in a groove that illustrates the audienceโs involvement on a psychological level. Sure, they applaud at the right moments, but they and the band also provide a space where jazz is reason enough. It doesnโt require context. Art for artโs sake รขโฌโ the Paris of oneโs imagination made real for a night.
Tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin joins in on several cuts, including the ten-minute-plus โFull Houseโ and Thelonious Monkโs classic, โโRound Midnightโ. On the latter, Montgomery explores the beauty of the melody and shows how sophisticated the music is in its very simplicity. He keeps the music on the down low, not getting too fast or wound up. When Griffin joins in, the very tone of his sax adds commentary to what Montgomery just played. The horn adds an agitation to the mix. Heโs animated in contrast to Montgomeryโs calm. That creates tension, and at first, one thinks Griffinโs going to turn the song into an occasion to party. But the guitarist comes back and takes control for the last four minutes. He captures Griffinโs excitement, but he mutes it as a way of keeping the flame burning or at least smoldering. The song ends with a minute of just Wes solo on the strings in a meditative groove.
The concert ends with three blues numbers, a medley of โBlue โNโ Boogieโ / โWest Coast Bluesโ and โTwisted Bluesโ. Ironically, these are the happiest songs. Montgomery plays them with a lighter touch, perhaps because he wanted to end the show on a less heavy level. He strums more than picks here and keeps the pace moving to a fast beat. He accents his cadences with fancy frilly as he glides up and down the strings on the final cut. As far as one can tell, itโs not raining outside. But Montgomeryโs playing has fallen on their ears. The promise of April in the City of Lights awaits.
Steve Horowitz
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