Wes Montgomery | Beginnings

Review by Scott Yanow | allmusic

At the time that guitarist Wes Montgomery recorded "Finger Pickin'" on Dec. 30, 1957, he was an unknown guitarist from Indianapolis who a decade earlier had toured a bit with Lionel Hampton. By the final session on this two-LP set, he was on the verge of stardom. The innovative guitarist (who extended the style of Charlie Christian about as far as it could go) is in consistently superior form on these former rarities. Montgomery is heard with his brothers (vibraphonist/pianist Buddy and electric bassist Monk) in a variety of settings. Such sidemen as a 17-year old Freddie Hubbard (the trumpeter's recording debut), tenor-saxophonist Harold Land and altoist Pony Poindexter are also heard from on this straightahead set which has a generous supply of Wes Montgomery's originals (along with a few jammed standards). There is plenty of classic music here but this two-fer will be difficult to find.

01 Wes's Tune 4:07 
02 Old Folks 6:34 
03 Stranger In Paradise 4:53 
04 Monk's Shop 3:54 
05 Montgomeryland Funk 4:00 
06 Summertime 4:50 
07 Falling In Love With Love 6:16 
08 Billie's Bounce 4:40 
09 Stompin' At The Savoy 4:19 
10 Baubles, Bangles And Beads 3:26 
11 Bock To Bock 10:00 
12 Fingerpickin' 2:30 
13 Leila 3:26 
14 Far Wes 5:50 
15 Renie 3:32 
16 Hymn For Carl 4:33