Smokin' at the Half Note is essential listening for anyone who wants to hear why Montgomery's dynamic live shows were considered the pinnacle of his brilliant and incredibly influential guitar playing.
Pat Metheny calls this "the absolute greatest jazz guitar album ever made," and with performances of this caliber ("Unit 7" boasts one of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded) his statement is easily validated.
Montgomery never played with more drive and confidence, and he's supported every step of the way by a genuinely smokin' Wynton Kelly Trio.
In 1998, Verve reissued the complete show on disc two of Impressions: The Verve Jazz Sides, although the scrambled track order and some non-essential cuts don't diminish the appeal of the original album.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If You Could See Me NowTadd Dameron, Carl Sigman | Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly Trio | Play | 08:25 | 19 MB | 41 MB |
| 2 | Unit 7Sam Jones | Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly Trio | Play | 06:48 | 15 MB | 39 MB |
| 3 | Four on SixWes Montgomery | Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly Trio | Play | 06:47 | 15 MB | 35 MB |
| 4 | What's New | Wes Montgomery | Play | 06:13 | 14 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Willow Weep for Me | Wes Montgomery | Play | 09:09 | 20 MB | 53 MB |
| 6 | Portrait of Jenny | Wes Montgomery | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 7 | Surrey with the Fringe on Top | Wes Montgomery | Play | 06:18 | 14 MB | 36 MB |
| 8 | Oh You Crazy Moon | Wes Montgomery | Play | 05:33 | 12 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Misty | Wes Montgomery | Play | 06:59 | 16 MB | 37 MB |
| 10 | Impressions | Wes Montgomery | Play | 05:03 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 64 mins | 148 MB | |||||
| 64 mins | 348 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Burke | Composer |
| 2 | Paul Chambers | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 3 | Jimmy Cobb | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 4 | Tadd Dameron | Composer |
| 5 | Miles Davis | Composer |
| 6 | Dennis Drake | Digital Remastering |
| 7 | Bob Haggart | Composer |
| 8 | Robert Haggart | Composer |
| 9 | Sam Jones | Composer |
| 10 | Sam Jones | Composer |
| 11 | Wynton Kelly | Performer, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 12 | Wynton Kelly Trio | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 13 | Acy Lehman | Cover Design |
| 14 | Wes Montgomery | Composer, Guitar, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 15 | Carl Sigman | Composer |
| 16 | C. Taylor | Producer |
| 17 | Creed Taylor | Producer |
| 18 | Val Valentin | Engineer |
| 19 | Rudy Van Gelder | Engineer, Liner Notes |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |