December 2025
Riverside Records / Craft Recordings—CR00727
Format: LP
Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment
The great jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery enjoyed commercial success in the last few years of his life after he signed with Verve Records in 1964, and gained even more popularity when he moved to A&M Records in 1967, a year before he died. Creed Taylor was his producer in those years and often matched him with various orchestral ensembles, from big bands to strings.
There are some enjoyable moments on Montgomery’s Verve LPs, especially on the two he did with organist Jimmy Smith and a live recording with the Wynton Kelly Trio. Often, however, his later records came off as pleasant background music.
Montgomery’s most inventive and pure jazz recordings as a leader were the small-group sessions he recorded for Riverside Records from 1959 to 1963. He appeared with lineups of various sizes and configurations on those albums, but his first LP, The Wes Montgomery Trio (1960), featured him with organist Melvin Rhyne and drummer Paul Parker.
Riverside brought Montgomery into the studio a few more times with an organ trio and released an additional three albums of material from those sessions. Rhyne was a constant, but the drum seat was filled by Jimmy Cobb or George Brown, depending on the recording date. Montgomery recorded Boss Guitar with Rhyne and Cobb in April 1963, and it was among the last things the guitarist did for Riverside before departing for Verve.
I have a 1986 reissue of Boss Guitar, remastered by Phil De Lancie and released as part of Fantasy Records’ Original Jazz Classics (OJC) series. There’s some debate about the sourcing of the masters for those releases, but Steve Hoffman has stated on his forum that they were cut from the analog master tapes, which De Lancie himself later confirmed. After the MoFi dustup a couple of years ago, you’d think those concerns would have faded.
Craft Recordings, which owns the Fantasy Records catalog that had included Riverside, resurrected the OJC series in 2023 and has reissued Boss Guitar in a new vinyl edition, with “(AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.” RTI pressed the vinyl.
Boss Guitar offers an enjoyable balance of chestnuts that jazz musicians have often interpreted, along with two original Montgomery tunes. Consuelo Velázquez’s “Bésame Mucho” has been covered by everyone from the Beatles to jazz guitarist Grant Green, and Montgomery’s version shows off his talents as an interpreter and improviser.
When I played the song on my copy of the 1986 reissue, it sounded crisp and lively—De Lancie did good work. When I switched to the new pressing, instrument placement was roughly the same, but Rhyne’s chords, played on different sections of the organ and coming from the left and right channels, were more fleshed out. His bass pedal lines had a little more oomph on the new release, and Cobb’s brushwork on the snare showed a lighter touch, which allowed more space for the other instruments. Montgomery’s guitar sounded larger and deeper. I had a much better sense that I was hearing a big, hollow-bodied guitar on the Craft Recordings version.
The trio plays “Dearly Beloved,” a Jerome Kern / Johnny Mercer tune, at a fast clip without stumbling. Cobb’s ride cymbal sounded brighter on the 1986 reissue but fuller on the new LP. Montgomery’s chords behind Rhyne’s solo were more substantial on the Craft reissue, and his solos had a rounder tone. Montgomery famously used his thumb rather than a pick, and I could hear more clearly the effect that choice had on the tone and texture of his solos, especially during octave runs.
“The Trick Bag,” another fast-moving track, is a Montgomery composition. He and Rhyne play the opening theme, and I could hear each instrument’s melody lines better on the new pressing. Gray allowed more space between them, and he also pulled the drums back to position them slightly behind the other players. Each of Montgomery’s notes cut through fully, and the low notes had a more pronounced and impressive impact than they did on the earlier reissue.
The medium-tempo “Fried Pies” is another Montgomery song, and its strong blues foundation gives Rhyne one of his best solo spots on the album. His playing had a warmer tone on the new pressing and Gray’s master gave his bass pedal work more prominence, which provided Rhyne’s solo with a stronger foundation. Cobb’s ride cymbal was moved back to give more room to Rhyne and Montgomery while still ringing out fully.
The trio arrangements of “Days of Wine and Roses” and “For Heaven’s Sake” allow Montgomery to demonstrate his considerable skills as a ballad player. Both Cobb and Rhyne accompany him with great subtlety. Cobb’s delicate brushwork on “Days of Wine and Roses” sounded less aggressive on the new pressing, and that allowed the harmonic richness of Rhyne’s comping to come through. Montgomery’s own chord work sounded even more impressive on the new LP.
Montgomery’s use of dynamics on both tracks was easier to appreciate on the Craft reissue, and the passages where he injects a quick melody line stayed focused and clean. The more balanced sound on this release let me appreciate how understated and sympathetic Rhyne and Cobb were in supporting Montgomery’s intentions.
My copy of the new pressing of Boss Guitar was flat and quiet. The LP cover is heavy cardboard with laminated, tipped-on artwork. I have quite a few of these new OJC reissues, and the packaging has been consistently impressive. It’s a big improvement over the light cardboard covers used for the earlier reissues.
Phil De Lancie’s cut of Boss Guitar has more zip than this new reissue, but I like the overall balance Gray brought to the music, giving it breathing space to let the instruments bloom. With Mel Rhyne and Jimmy Cobb accompanying him, we can now hear even better than ever what a technically accomplished and inspired player Wes Montgomery was.
. . . Joseph Taylor
josepht@soundstagenetwork.com
