Wes Montgomery — The Complete Full House Recordings (Live at Tsubo / 1962)
Qobuz reissue review (November 2023)
Although Wes Montgomery found the most commercial success with his Creed Taylor-produced albums for Verve and A&M Records, the nine-albums-in-four-years run that he had on Riverside from 1959 to 1963 was where he established himself as one of the preeminent jazz guitarists of the hard bop and soul-jazz era. The clarity and energy of those Riverside albums, along with his unique picking style, helped Montgomery carve out a new lane for funky improvisation that was accessible but also technically satisfying. Montgomery’s music during this period — sprightly, melodic, and built upon the interplay of the musicians in his group — seems tailor-made for a concert environment, so it’s surprising that only one live album was released during his Riverside era. But oh, what a live album it is. First released in November 1962 (his fifth album as a leader on Riverside), Full House was recorded just a few months earlier at the Tsubo Coffee House in Berkeley, California, and captures Montgomery leading a talent-packed quintet featuring Johnny Griffin, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. In the intimate environment of a club gig, this group is positively electric, and, given that Riverside boss Orrin Keepnews encouraged the band to perform multiple takes to construct a live album, the documentation here is exceptional. Although Full House was delivered as a concise, all-killer, no-filler, six-track album, over the years it has been expanded to include many of those alternate takes. A 2007 reissue doubled the initial length and seemed to be comprehensive, but this 2023 Complete Full Houseedition tacks on a previously unreleased and unedited version of the title cut that restores Montgomery’s original solo. Wisely, the original album — in beautifully remastered form — is the foundation of this edition, and presented with its running order intact. Highlights abound throughout the remainder of the set, however, whether it’s Paul Chambers’ stunning bass solo on an alternate take of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Blue ’n’ Boogie” or that previously unreleased master take of “Full House.” Although a few tracks are here in two or three different versions, the pacing and sequencing of the record never feels weedy or redundant, even when these alternate takes are presented back to back, making a strong testament to the versatility and vitality of Montgomery and his band.
