Jean Laborde

Jean Laborde (16 October 1805 in Auch - 27 December 1878 in Madagascar) was an adventurer and early industrialist in Madagascar. He became the chief engineer of the Merina monarchy, supervising the creation of a modern manufacturing center under Queen Ranavalona I. Later he became the first French consul to Madagascar, when the government of Napoléon III used him to establish French influence on the island.

Laborde was shipwrecked on the island of Madagascar at the age of 26 and soon after was granted large tracts of land and unlimited labor to provide armaments for the Merina army.

Laborde had some engineering background. With the help of five other Europeans, he set up a manufacturing and engineering center. They had no imported machinery beyond simple blacksmith's tools and no documents, but within a few years were producing: iron (cast and wrought), steel (via the crucible method), muskets, gunpowder, light cannons, metal-working lathes, watermills, window and blown glass, machine-spun cotton, spinning machinery, and power looms.

Laborde built a complete industrial complex. Within 6 years, he had blast furnaces with waterwheel-powered draught producing cast iron, puddling mills producing wrought iron, a steeling plant producing spring steel, a glassworks, brickworks and cement-plant, a heavy foundry capable of producing 24-pound cannons, a musket factory, a gunpowder mill, a tower to make lead shot, and textile mills.

Laborde also built a 4-story palace covered with mirrors, and opened up mines, roads, and bridges in various parts of the island. He built ox and horse-wagons and a short (horse-drawn) stretch of railway.

Laborde got involved in the 1857 coup instigated by Joseph-François Lambert and was banned by the queen. After the queen was succeeded by Radama II, he was able to return. Napoleon III named him as the first French consul to the Merina court.

The French government pressed the Merina to recompensate Laborde (and his inheritors) for the loss of his wealth when he had been banned which became one of the justifications for the Franco-Hova War.

External links[link]

• Biography (in French)

Radama II
Radama II with crown
King of Madagascar
Reign	August 16, 1861 – May 12, 1863
Coronation	September 23, 1862
Predecessor	Ranavalona I
Successor	Rasoherina
Spouse	Rasoherina (as Rabodo) Ranavalona II (as Ramoma) Marie Rasoamieja[1]
Father	Andriamihaja
Mother	Ranavalona I
Born	September 23, 1829 Imasoandro, Rova of Antananarivo
Died	May 12, 1863 (age 33) – contested[2] Rova of Antananarivo – contested[2]
Burial	1863/1897 – contested[2] Ilafy/Tomb of the Kings, Rovan'Antananarivo – contested[2] (re-interred)

Radama II (September 23, 1829 – May 12, 1863 [assumed dead]) was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, was a pivotal period in the history of the Kingdom of Madagascar. Under the unyielding and often harsh 33-year rule of his mother, Queen Ranavalona I, Madagascar had successfully preserved its cultural and political independence from French and British designs. Rejecting the queen's policy of isolationism and Christian persecution, Radama II permitted religious freedom and re-opened Madagascar to European influence. Under the terms of the Lambert Charter, which Radama secretly contracted in 1855 with French entrepreneur Joseph-François Lambert while Ranavalona yet ruled, the French were awarded exclusive rights to the exploitation of large tracts of valuable land and other lucrative resources and projects. This agreement, which was later revoked by Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony, was key to establishing France's claim over Madagascar as a protectorate and, in 1896, as a colony.

The dramatic contrast between Ranavalona's isolationism and her son's pro-European stance represented an abrupt reversal of policy that threatened the traditional sociopolitical order. Radama's absolutism in pursuing dramatic reforms in disregard of the advice of his ministers ultimately turned them against him. In a coup led by his Prime Minister, Rainivoninahitriniony, Radama II was strangled on May 12, 1863. His wife Rabodo, who took the throne name Rasoherina, was allowed by the ministers to succeed her husband on the condition that she and future sovereigns would no longer rule unilaterally, but rather in concert with the Hova (the class of free citizens) as represented by the position of Prime Minister. The public was informed that Radama had committed suicide and that his body had been unceremoniously interred in a tomb in Ilafy. However, there soon emerged rumors – believed by prominent foreigners Jean Laborde and William Ellis – that Radama lived and was making plans to reclaim the throne. A strong case has since been made on the basis of significant evidence that Radama may indeed have revived after the strangling and lived to old age in anonymity near Lake Kinkony in the northwestern part of the island.

Upbringing and early years[link]

Radama II was born Prince Rakoto (Rakotosehenondradama) on September 23, 1829 in the Imasoandro building on the compound of the Rova of Antananarivo.^[3] He was officially recognized as the son of King Radama I and his widow Queen Ranavalona I, although the king had died more than nine months before the prince's birth. He was likely fathered by a lover of his mother, Andriamihaja, a progressive young officer of the Merina army who the queen may have been tricked into putting to death by conservative ministers at court.^[4]

After his mother succeeded Radama I on the throne, she instituted an increasingly regressive regime that attempted to restore traditional values and contain or eliminate westernization.^[5] The prince, however, who had been highly influenced by the French adviser to the queen, Joseph-François Lambert, was favorably impressed by European culture, knowledge and its state of economic, political and technological development, and was troubled by some of the socially repressive policies pursued by Ranavalona I.^[4] According to a British account, the French played on this sympathy in 1855 by pressuring Prince Rakoto into signing a request for French aid that would have enabled France to establish control over Madagascar had the true nature of the letter and its signing not been uncovered by Rakoto and his British contacts^[4] An alternate explanation was offered by Lambert, who maintained that the prince had knowingly supported the attempt to put an end to his mother's harsh policies, and was a willing collaborator in a failed 1857 plot to remove her from the throne.^[6]

Prior to Queen Ranavalona's death, the conservative and progressive factions within the Merina court waged a tactical power struggle to secure a successor favorable to their own political agenda.^[5] The conservative faction favored Ramboasalama, the son of the Queen's sister, while the Queen's Prime Minister, Rainivoninahitriniony and head of the army, Rainilaiarivony, brothers and progressives, supported Radama II. The latter successfully obtained key strategic allies within the court that enabled Radama to seize the throne without violence following his mother's death. Ramboasalama was obliged to swear a public oath of allegiance to Radama, and was later sent into exile in the highland village of Ambohimirimo where he died in April 1962.^[4]

Reign[link]

Prince Rakoto acceded to the throne on August 16, 1861 upon the natural death of his mother, Queen Ranavalona I, assuming the throne name Radama II. His coronation ceremony was held the following year on September 23, 1862.^[3] Once upon the throne, he immediately initiated a rapid and dramatic reversal of many of his mother's traditionalist policies.^[4] He reopened the country to foreign powers and concluded treaties of friendship with Britain and France. The Lambert Charter opened up business possibilities for French investors. Freedom of religion was declared, persecution of Christians ceased, missionaries returned to the island and their schools were reopened. Radama abolished the traditional trial by ordeal of tangena, in which the guilt or innocence of an accused person was determined based on the outcome of consuming the poison of the tangena nut, and inhabitants of Antananarivo were permitted to raise swine within the city walls, a practice previously forbidden by a fady (taboo) forbidding them from being kept near the royal talismans (sampy). The sampy were dispersed to the sacred villages where they had originated under 16th-century Merina king Ralambo and other early monarchs.^[4] Significantly, Radama freed numerous political prisoners captured under Ranavalona I during provincial wars of subjugation and offered repatriation of confiscated property. This pardon was reciprocated by many of the beneficiary ethnic groups around the island, and good will between the coasts and central administration at Antananarivo improved significantly.^[4] These changes, and the king himself, were unequivocally praised by Madagascar's European partners:

"It is most remarkable that Radama II should have formed views of policy so large and liberal, so enlightened, humane and patriotic as those which form the foundation of his throne; that the son of such a mother, trained up under a despotism so dark, and restrictive and cruel, should have adopted such principles of religious freedom and political economy, as equal civil liberty and universal free trade principles, which our own nation has been so slow to learn, and which are still repudiated in many lands where civilization is far advanced."

—Ebenezer Prout, Madagascar: Its Mission and Its Martyrs (1863)^[7]

The reaction within Imerina was less one-sided. The abrupt and dramatic policy changes pursued by the progressive king both alienated and disfranchised the established conservative factions among the andriana (nobles) and Hova (freemen) at court. Especially controversial were the special privileges accorded to Joseph-François Lambert and his partners under the Lambert Charter, including the exclusive implementation of public works projects (felling trees, making roads, building canals etc.), control over minting coinage, lucrative mining rights and more as part of the purview of Lambert's proposed Compagnie de Madagascar (French Madagascar Company). The citizens' concern stemmed primarily from clauses in the agreement that would have permitted Lambert's company to become permanent owners of Malagasy lands. Until this point, land in Madagascar, which was viewed by the populace as the sacred ground of the ancestors, could only ever be temporarily possessed by foreigners until their death, at which point the land would revert to the crown. The threat of permanently losing any part of sacred Malagasy soil to foreigners was deeply troubling.^[4][a]

Assassination plot[link]

King Radama II walks with his wife Rabodo, who would become Queen Rasoherina after the coup against her husband.

The legalization of dueling was ultimately the issue that brought to a head the tension between King Radama II's entourage (mostly friends and some established political figures, known collectively as the menamaso or "red-eyes") and representatives of the opposition led by Radama's prime minister Rainivoninahitriniony.^[4] On May 7, 1863, Radama II announced his intention to allow disputes to be settled by a duel, much to the disapproval of many of his advisers at court who feared the practice would lead to anarchy. The prime minister prevented the law from being publicly declared at the Zoma (Friday) market the following day. Friday afternoon, the prime minister's younger brother, Rainilaiarivony, who was head of the army, called several thousand troops into the city to besiege a number of the menamaso and members of the royal family at the Rova palace compound, and by Saturday morning the decision had been made and carried out to execute eleven of the menamaso and other key political figures who had counseled Radama to legalize dueling. On Sunday, May 10, Rainivoninahitriniony demanded that Radama hand over the menamaso he was sheltering in the palace, which he refused to do until the Prime Minister agreed to spare their lives; they were handed over but by Monday morning had all been speared to death.^[4]

The drama ended on Tuesday morning, May 12, 1863, when a group of officers and soldiers forced their way into the Rova and seized the king.^[3] His wife, Queen Rabodo, pleaded for his life to be spared and attempted to stop them but was forcibly removed. The soldiers threw a lamba over Radama's head and strangled him with a silk sash until he was believed to be dead, thereby avoiding the shedding of royal blood as was the custom for royal executions in Imerina.^[4]

The nobles informed Rabodo that she would have their support as queen on the condition that she would accept to abide by certain articles that would form a new contract between rulers and ruled in Madagascar^[7]:

"For the future the word of the sovereign alone was not to be law, but that the sovereign, the nobles and the heads of the people were to unite in making the laws; that the friendship with foreigners was to be maintained; that no one was to be put to death on the word of the sovereign alone, but that the nobles and the heads of the people must concur in the sentence before it could be inflicted; that religion and worship were to be equally free to all – to natives and foreigners, to Christians and non-Christians – excepting in Ambohimanga where there should be no public worship. The ordeal of tangena was not to be used, but death should be inflicted for great crimes."

—Ebenezer Prout, Madagascar: Its Mission and Its Martyrs (1863)^[7]

Rabodo agreed to these conditions. The next morning, it was publicly announced in the marketplace that Radama had taken his own life due to grief over the deaths of his compatriots the menamaso and that Rabodo would succeed him as Queen Rasoherina. To cement the new power-sharing agreement between the ruler, the nobles and the heads of the people, a political marriage was contracted between the queen and Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony, who had been instrumental in her first husband's death.^[7] Radama's name was struck from the list of kings and it was declared illegal to mourn his death.^[9]

Rumors of survival[link]

Following Radama II's apparent death, rumors spread that he had only been rendered unconscious by the attempt on his life and had revived as his body was being transported to Ilafy for interment in his designated tomb. French historian Delval presents evidence that supports a scenario wherein the group tasked with carrying Radama's body to Ilafy became frightened as the king began to revive, prompting them to abandon the body and then falsely maintain that they had completed their task to place him in the tomb.^[2] Within months after his reported death, rumors began circulating that Radama was alive, residing on the west coast of the island and was amassing supporters for a political comeback. The rumors persisted to the point of causing political turmoil in Antananarivo.^[9] These claims may have had some substance judging by the actions of others. Prominent Christian missionaries outside the capital made extensive efforts to visit and support Radama but seemingly never succeeded. Traditionalist factions within the government were concerned enough by the rumors to have put to death sixteen of his supporters, as well as fining hundreds of others.^[10] According to evidence in Delval's study, Radama may indeed have survived and, failing to regain the throne, lived to old age as an ordinary citizen in the north of the island.^[5]

With the apparent murder of Radama II, the power of the Merina monarchs was broken. Subsequent monarchs were controlled by influential Hova, particularly Rainilaiarivony, who became Prime Minister after his brother and successively married all three remaining queens of the monarchy: Rasoherina, Ranavalona II and Ranavalona III.^[5]

Notes[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Radama II

References[link]

Jean Humbert

General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert (22 August 1755 – 3 January 1823) was a French soldier, a participant in the French Revolution, who led a failed invasion of Ireland to assist Irish rebels in 1798.

Born in Saint-Nabord, Vosges, he was a sergeant in the National Guard of Lyon, and rapidly advanced through the ranks to become Brigadier General on 9 April 1794, and fought in the Western campaigns before being allocated to the Army of the Rhine.

Monument to General Humbert depicting Mother Ireland on Humbert Street, Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland

Invasion of Ireland[link]

In Ireland, although managing to land at Killala, meeting with initial success in the battle of Castlebar, and subsequently declaring a Republic of Connaught, with hopes of taking Dublin, his small force was defeated at the battle of Ballinamuck and he was taken as a prisoner of war by the Kingdom of Great Britain.^[1]

He was shortly repatriated in a prisoner exchange, and later participated in several Caribbean campaigns for Napoleon Bonaparte, and was appointed governor of Saint Domingue (Haiti). A committed Republican, his displeasure at Napoleon's Imperial pretensions led to a fall from favour and his exile to Brittany.

Coming under increasing scrutiny and fearful of arrest, Humbert escaped to the United States in 1808. He settled in New Orleans, once again fighting the British at the battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, and briefly participated in the Mexican War of Independence (on the revolutionaries' side) in 1814. He then lived peacefully as a schoolteacher until his death in New Orleans.

War of 1812[link]

Infuriated by the Kentuckians' fleeing, Jackson directed a French General, Jean Humbert, to cross the River and retake the American position. Humbert, who had fought under Napoleon and always appeared in his old uniform was delighted to accept the assignment. But in the U.S. ranks, he was serving as a volunteer private. Since Jackson neglected to give him written authority, American officers on the west bank refused to take orders from a man who was not a citizen, and Humbert returned angrily to Jackson's Headquarters ( From Union 1812: The Americans who Fought the Second War of Independence by A.J. Langguth)

External links[link]

Author and Historian Stephen Dunford discusses his book and Documentary " In Humbert's Footsteps" at http://www.podcasts.ie/featured-writers/featured-prose-writers/steve-dunford/

References[link]

1. ^ See Guy Beiner, Remembering the Year of the French: Irish Folk History and Social Memory (University of Wisconsin Press, 2007)

• [1]

Sunny Skylar (October 11, 1913 – February 2, 2009) was an American composer, singer, lyricist, and music publisher. He was born Selig Shaftel in Brooklyn, New York. As a singer, he appeared with a number of big bands, including those led by Ben Bernie, Paul Whiteman, Abe Lyman, George Hall and Vincent Lopez. It was Lopez who changed the singer's professional name from Sonny Schuyler to Sunny Skylar. After the end of the big band era, Skylar continued to sing in nightclubs and theaters until 1952.

Among the songs he wrote (either music or lyrics) are:

• Amor
• And So to Sleep Again
• Bésame Mucho (translation of the original Mexican song)
• Gotta Be This or That
• Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue
• Love Me with All Your Heart
• Where There's Smoke, There's Fire
• You're Breaking My Heart
• If You Loved Me (English version for Polnareff's 'soul coaxing - ame caline')

References[link]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

This article about a United States singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968)^[1] was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily Remler, Kenny Burrell, Pat Metheny, Steve Howe, and Jimi Hendrix.

Biography[link]

Montgomery was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. According to NPR Jazz Profiles "The Life and Music Of Wes Montgomery," the nickname "Wes" was a child's abbreviation of his middle name, Leslie.^[2] He came from a musical family; his brothers, Monk (string bass and electric bass) and Buddy (vibraphone and piano), were jazz performers. The brothers released a number of albums together as the Montgomery Brothers. Although he was not skilled at reading music, he could learn complex melodies and riffs by ear. Montgomery started learning the six string guitar at the relatively late age of 20 by listening to and learning the recordings of his idol, guitarist Charlie Christian, however he had played a four string tenor guitar since age twelve. He was known for his ability to play Christian's solos note for note and was hired by Lionel Hampton for this ability.^[1]

Many fellow jazz guitarists consider Montgomery the greatest influence among modern jazz guitarists. Pat Metheny has praised him greatly, saying "I learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery's Smokin' at the Half Note." In addition, Metheny stated to The New York Times in 2005 that the solo on "If You Could See Me Now," from this album is his favorite of all time. Joe Pass said, "To me, there have been only three real innovators on the guitar—Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt," as cited in James Sallis's The Guitar Players and in his Hot Licks instructional video. Kenny Burrell states, "It was an honor that he called me as his second guitarist for a session." In addition, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, David Becker, Joe Diorio, Steve Lukather and Pat Martino have pointed to him numerous times as a great influence. Lee Ritenour, who recorded the 1992 album Wes Bound named after him, cites him as his most notable influence; he also named his son Wesley.

Following the early work of swing/pre-bop guitarist Charlie Christian and gypsy-jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Wes joined Tal Farlow, Johnny Smith, Jimmy Raney, and Barney Kessell to put guitar on the map as a bebop / post-bop instrument. While these men generally curtailed their own output in the 1960s, Montgomery recorded prolifically during this period, lending guitar to the same tunes contemporaries like John Coltrane and Miles Davis were recording. While many jazz players are regarded as virtuosos, Montgomery had a very wide influence on other virtuosos who followed him, and in the respect he earned from his contemporaries. To many, Montgomery's playing defines jazz guitar and the sound that learners try to emulate.

Dave Miele and Dan Bielowsky claim, "Wes Montgomery was certainly one of the most influential and most musical guitarists to ever pick up the instrument... He took the use of octaves and chord melodies to a greater level than any other guitarist, before or since... Montgomery is undoubtedly one of the most important voices in Jazz guitar that has ever lived-or most likely ever will live. A discussion of Jazz guitar is simply not thorough if it does not touch upon Wes Montgomery."^[3]

"Listening to [Wes Montgomery's] solos is like teetering at the edge of a brink," composer-conductor Gunther Schuller asserted, as quoted by Jazz & Pop critic Will Smith. "His playing at its peak becomes unbearably exciting, to the point where one feels unable to muster sufficient physical endurance to outlast it." Wes received many awards and accolades: Nominated for two Grammy Awards for Bumpin', 1965; received Grammy Award for Goin' Out of My Head as Best Instrumental Jazz Performance by Large Group or Soloist with Large Group, 1966; nominated for Grammy Awards for "Eleanor Rigby" and "Down Here on the Ground", 1968; nominated for Grammy Award for Willow, Weep for Me, 1969. Wes' second album, The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, earned him Down Beat magazine's "New Star" award in 1960. In addition, he won the Down Beat Critic's Poll award for best Jazz guitarist in 1960, '61, '62,'63, '66, and 1967.^[4]

Montgomery toured with Lionel Hampton early in his career, however the combined stress of touring and being away from family brought him back home to Indianapolis. To support his family of eight, Montgomery worked in a factory from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, then performed in local clubs from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. Cannonball Adderley heard Montgomery in an Indianapolis club and was floored. The next morning, he called record producer Orrin Keepnews, who signed Montgomery to a recording contract with Riverside Records. Adderley later recorded with Montgomery on his Pollwinners album. Montgomery recorded with his brothers and various other group members, including the Wynton Kelly Trio which previously backed up Miles Davis.

John Coltrane asked Montgomery to join his band after a jam session, but Montgomery continued to lead his own band. Boss Guitar seems to refer to his status as a guitar-playing bandleader. He also made contributions to recordings by Jimmy Smith. Jazz purists relish Montgomery's recordings up through 1965, and sometimes complain that he abandoned hard-bop for pop jazz towards the end of his career, although it is arguable that he gained a wider audience for his earlier work with his soft jazz from 1965–1968. During this late period he would occasionally turn out original material alongside jazzy orchestral arrangements of pop songs. In sum, this late period earned him considerable wealth and created a platform for a new audience to hear his earlier recordings.

He didn't have very long to live to enjoy his commercial success, however; on June 15, 1968, while at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., he woke one morning, remarked to his wife that he "Didn't feel very well," and minutes later collapsed, dying of a heart attack within minutes. Montgomery's home town of Indianapolis has named a park in his honor. He is the grandfather of actor Anthony Montgomery.^{[1] [5]}

Technique[link]

According to jazz guitar educator Wolf Marshall, Montgomery often approached solos in a three-tiered manner: He would begin a repeating progression with single note lines, derived from scales or modes; after a fitting number of sequences, he would play octaves for a few more sequences, finally culminating with block chords. He used mostly superimposed triads and arpeggios as the main source for his soloing ideas and sounds.^[1]

The use of octaves (playing the same note on two strings one octave apart) for which he is widely known, became known as "the Naptown Sound". Montgomery was also an excellent "single-line" or "single-note" player, and was very influential in the use of block chords in his solos. His playing on the jazz standard "Lover Man" is an example of his single-note, octave- and block-chord soloing. ("Lover Man" appears on the Fantasy album The Montgomery Brothers.)

Instead of using a guitar pick, Montgomery plucked the strings with the fleshy part of his thumb, using downstrokes for single notes and a combination of upstrokes and downstrokes for chords and octaves. Montgomery developed this technique not for technical reasons but for his wife. He worked long hours as a machinist before his career began and practiced late at night while his wife was sleeping. He played with his thumb so that his playing would be softer and not wake her. This technique enabled him to get a mellow, expressive tone from his guitar^{[citation needed]}. George Benson, in the liner notes of the Ultimate Wes Montgomery album, wrote, "Wes had a corn on his thumb, which gave his sound that point. He would get one sound for the soft parts, and then that point by using the corn. That's why no one will ever match Wes. And his thumb was double-jointed. He could bend it all the way back to touch his wrist, which he would do to shock people."

He generally played a Gibson L-5CES guitar. In his later years he played one of two guitars that Gibson custom made for him. In his early years, Montgomery had a tube amp, often a Fender. In his later years, he played a solid state Standel amp with a 15-inch (380 mm) speaker.

Recording career[link]

Montgomery toured with vibraphonist Lionel Hampton's orchestra from July 1948 to January 1950, and can be heard on recordings from this period. Montgomery then returned to Indianapolis and did not record again until December 1957 (save for one session in 1955), when he took part in a session that included his brothers Monk and Buddy, as well as trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who made his recording debut with Montgomery. Most of the recordings made by Montgomery and his brothers from 1957–1959 were released on the Pacific Jazz label.^[1]

From 1959 Montgomery was signed to the Riverside Records label, and remained there until late 1963, just before the company went bankrupt. The recordings made during this period are widely considered by fans and jazz historians to be Montgomery's best and most influential. Two sessions in January 1960 yielded The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, which was recorded as a quartet with pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. The album featured two of Montgomery's most well-known compositions, "Four on Six" and "West Coast Blues."

Almost all of Montgomery's output on Riverside featured the guitarist in a small group setting, usually a trio (and always with his organist from his Indianapolis days, Melvin Rhyne), a quartet, or a quintet, playing a mixture of hard-swinging uptempo jazz numbers and quiet ballads. The lone exception, Fusion, telegraphed his post-Riverside career: it was his first recording with a string ensemble. One of the more memorable sets involved a co-leadership collaboration with vibraphone virtuoso and Modern Jazz Quartet mainstay Milt Jackson, whom producer Orrin Keepnews has said insisted on a collaboration with Montgomery as a condition for signing a solo recording deal with Riverside.

In 1964 Montgomery moved to Verve Records for two years. His stay at Verve yielded a number of albums where he was featured with an orchestra—brass-dominated (Movin' Wes), string-oriented (Bumpin', Tequila), or a mix of both (Goin' Out of My Head, California Dreamin').^[1]

But he never abandoned jazz entirely in the Verve years, whether with a few selections on most of the Verve albums, or by such sets as 1965s Smokin' at the Half Note (showcasing two memorable appearances at the famous New York City club with the Wynton Kelly Trio) or a pair of albums he made with jazz organ titan Jimmy Smith, The Dynamic Duo and Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes). He continued to play outstanding live jazz guitar, as evidenced by surviving audio and video recordings from his 1965 tour of Europe.

As a considered founder of the smooth jazz school the album Bumpin' (1965) represents a model from which many modern recording are derived: as the liner notes to the CD remaster issue note, after being unable to produce the desired results by the guitarist and orchestra playing together, arranger Don Sebesky suggested Montgomery record the chosen music with his chosen small group, after which Sebesky would write the orchestral charts based on what Montgomery's group had produced. Longer clips from all of the tracks on Bumpin' and other Wes Montgomery albums are found on Verve Records website.

By the time Montgomery released his first album for A&M Records, he had seemingly abandoned jazz entirely for the more lucrative pop market, though as in his Verve period he played his customary jazz in small group settings in live appearances. The three albums released during his A&M period (1967–68) feature orchestral renditions of famous pop songs ("Scarborough Fair", "I Say a Little Prayer", "Eleanor Rigby", etc.) with Montgomery reciting the melody with his guitar. These records were the most commercially successful of his career, but featured the least jazz improvisation.^{[citation needed]}

Wes and Buddy, along with Richard Crabtree and Benny Barth, formed "The Mastersounds", and recorded "Jazz Showcase Introducing The Mastersounds" and a jazz version of "The King and I", both released by World Pacific Records. They first played together at Seattle, particularly working up the set for "The King and I", at a club called Dave's Fifth Avenue. The composers were so impressed by the jazz version of "The King & I" that they pre-released the score of "Flower Drum Song" to the quartet to allow simultaneous release with the sound track album.

Discography[link]

	Wes Montgomery "Tear It Down" (1965) noicon Sample from Wes Montgomery's "Tear It Down," from the album Bumpin'
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Riverside (1958–1964)[link]

Wes' recordings for Riverside/Milestone Records, including those made with The Montgomery Brothers are on the 12CD Box The Complete Riverside Recordings.^[6]

• 1958: Fingerpickin'
• 1958: Far Wes
• 1959: The Wes Montgomery Trio
• 1959: Yesterdays
• 1959: Pretty Blue
• 1960: The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery
• 1960: Cannonball Adderley and the Poll-Winners
• 1960: Movin' Along
• 1961: So Much Guitar
• 1961: Wes and Friends
• 1961: Bags Meets Wes! (with Milt Jackson)
• 1962: Full House
• 1963: Fusion!: Wes Montgomery with Strings (strings arranged by Jimmy Jones)
• 1963: Boss Guitar
• 1963: Portrait of Wes
• 1963: Guitar on the Go
• 1963: The Alternative Wes Montgomery (alternate takes for previously issued albums)
• 1964: Panorama (Produced by Orrin Keepnews)

Verve (1964–1966)[link]

• 1964: Movin' Wes
• 1965: Bumpin' (arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky)
• 1965: Smokin' at the Half Note
• 1965: Goin' Out of My Head (arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson)
• 1966: California Dreaming (arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky)
• 1966: Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes (with Jimmy Smith)
• 1966: Tequila (arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman)
• 1966: Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo (with Jimmy Smith)
• 1969: Willow Weep for Me (unused takes from the Smokin' at the Half Note session; overdubbed woodwinds and brass arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman)
• 1970: Eulogy

A&M (1967–1968)[link]

• 1967: A Day in the Life (arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky) (A&M Records/CTI Records)
• 1968: Down Here on the Ground (arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky) (A&M/CTI)
• 1968: Road Song (arranged and conducted by Don Sebesky) (A&M/CTI)

As sideman[link]

• 1960: Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners (leader: Cannonball Adderley)
• 1960: West Coast Blues! (leader: Harold Land)
• 1960: Work Song (leader: Nat Adderley)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Wes Montgomery site
• "Wes Montgomery Unedited" by Jim Ferguson, compiled from his Guitar Player Magazine article on Wes Montgomery (August 1993), his JazzTimes article "The Genius Of Wes Montgomery" (August 1995), and his essay in his liner notes to Wes Montgomery—The Complete Riverside Recordings (1992).
• Wes Montgomery discography
• GP2 – Guitar Player Magazine Interview – June 1973
• Wes Montgomery guitar tabs
• Wes Montgomery Park (Indianapolis)
• Biography and tribute by grandson Anthony Montgomery
• Find-A-Grave profile for Wes Montgomery