Nica's dream - Wes Montgomery 1965.
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- Опубліковано 24 лют 2011
- Nicas dream - Wes Montgomery 1965
A nice jazz standerd where the 4/4 jazz is exchanged with latin rhythms was written by master jazz pianist Horace Silver.
Wes Montgomery is accompanied by a group of young Dutch musicians, probably all still in their early twenties. Although unknown in the larger part of the world these are Pim Jacobs piano, his younger brother Ruud on bass and drummer Han Bennink who can compete with the best in the larger part of that world.
"Wes" Montgomery1923 - 1968) Montgomery is often considered the greatest of modern Jazz guitarists.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 Indianaopolis. 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.
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. This technique enabled him to get a mellow, expressive tone from his guitar. 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 just to shock people."
He didn't have a very long to live to enjoy his commercial success, he died of a heart attack at age 45 in 1968
Wes Montgomerys playing was such a huge influence on so many players (self included) but i think a huge part of his appeal was also his vibe and style. Humility and greatness is such a blessing, he had both.
Oh hell yes! To live in such an age where I can go online and see the likes of this whenever I want I am truly blessed.
Was just thinking the same as I watched!
Hell. Yes.
Amen brother. Amen. ...LOL!!!!
Amen 🙏
My number one then every one follows
Awesome Awesome Musicians this is some Beautiful Sh-t.. it's amazing what these Men did in that Time GOD BLESS THEM...
Wes Montgomery’s guitar tone was absolutely exquisite!
Wes' gorgeous tone on that L-5 CES arch-top guitar, played through either a Fender tube combo amp or a Standel combo solid-state amplifier, was without peer. Playing with the flesh of your finger(s) against the guitar strings affords tone that just can't be topped by mechanic means such as a pick. Classical guitarists have long-known this and Wes is an example in jazz. The range and dynamics you get with the flesh of the thumb are simply outstanding, ranging from very soft and muted to almost trumpet-like attack and staccato.
Jazz instrumentalists usually try to emulate horn players when soloing. Horns are the primary front-line or melodic instruments in many jazz bands, and some of the finest and most-influential instrumentalists in the history of the music were/are horn players. The names are familiar to jazz fans... Armstrong, Gillespie, Davis, Brown, Parker, Coltrane, etc. Because of the nature of the guitar as an instrument, it is very difficult to approach the true legato phrasing of a horn player, and fewer still who manage this can also get that popping Clifford Brown-like articulation and phrasing happening... but Wes Montgomery did it.
Because he did something that no one else in the history of jazz guitar had done - play single notes, chord fragments and chords with just his RH thumb - Wes had to discover and innovate unorthodox ways of getting around the instrument, and he did this - brilliantly. By using an artful combination of slurs, glisses, hammers-on, pull-offs, slides, ghost notes, rest vs. free strokes, and both forward (downward) and backward (upwards) rakes and sweeps, Wes was able to attain brilliantly horn-like phrasing on the instrument.
Most casual fans of jazz guitar, perhaps who do not play the instrument, do not grasp just how difficult it is to accomplish this feat, but the guitarists? Believe me, they know!
Of course, beautiful tone and high-level technique alone are not enough; the artist must also have worth-while musical ideas and possess the creativity to create pleasing and memorable music. Wes also possessed this quality and at the highest possible level, in other words he was a musical genius. That word gets thrown around a lot in music, but usually too-freely. However, in the case of Wes Montgomery, it was entirely apt.
I attended Aebersold Jazz Camp a few times when I was younger, and got to attend Jamie Aebersold's seminars and those of other jazz greats. Jamie hails from Indiana, and got to see/hear Wes Montgomery perform back in the 1960s when he was a young artist and aspiring jazz alto sax player making his name. Jamie flat-out calls Wes a genius. He would know; not only is he a world-class performer himself on saxophone and piano, he has also played with, met or taught alongside many of the jazz greats over the last half-century or more. Did Jamie even jam with Wes? I can't remember whether that happened or not....
If you love Wes' playing, you owe a debt to the great Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, the all-time great alto player, composer and band-leader who "discovered" Wes passing through Indianapolis on a road trip & tour, and got his label owner - Orrin Keepnews - to sign Wes to the Riverside Label. Thanks Cannonball!
And could that dude swing or what?
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 The pick is just something in your way.. distracting you from getting to the feel, the basics of the guitar.. but then, I played classical guitar, with nylon strings.. aged 12.. and at the same time I plugged my other guitar with pickup screwed over the soundhole into the tube radio :)) It worked both ways.. so my upbringing is some sort of a mess... I guess 😛
@@tomasvanecek8626 - Classical guitar is great. Even you don't end up pursuing it all the time, it is wonderful for developing your RH (or LH as the case may be) technique, and so much else. I love the late Julian Bream more than any other classical guitarist or lutenist, and if I could find a decent lute and learn how to play it, I'd go for it in a minute. I really acquired a taste for Dowland after hearing years ago Bream's famous 1960s LP "Dances of Dowland," done for RCA. Pure heaven far as I am concerned.
In addition to playing classical for a while, I also come from a folk music fingerstyle guitar background, namely Travis picking. Some use fingerpicks on their picking hand and a thumb-pick, but I got by just with a thumb-pick, as I am fortunate to possess very hard fingernails which rarely break.
Anyway, long story short, my background as a player has predisposed me, you might say, toward liking the sound of the human hand and fingers on a guitar and its strings.
Far as your experiments go, I wouldn't call you a "mess," just someone curious to try new and inventive things.... and there's nothing wrong with that. That's one of the beauties of guitar in fact, if you ask me: The pedagogy isn't 100% standardized, and there is still room for the person to find his or her own unique path on the instrument. Whether via a new and different tuning, unique design of the guitar, a new technique for playing, or whatever. Les Paul was like that in the 1940s and 1950s onwards, and so was Chet Atkins, and there were others, too. They ended up inventing new ways of playing and recording.
Speaking of Wes Montgomery, I just saw - here on YT - a video of the amazing Tim Mullin with the Gene Harris Quartet, playing an amazing rendition of "Meditation." Mullin is a thumb-only player, self-taught, and he delivers an amazing solo on this tune. Beautifully done with marvelous technique and wonderful ideas. He does it all with down-strokes only, no alternate picking like Wes.
Nunca segundas partes son buenas EXCELENTE TEMA Y ARREGLOS DE LA SONORA PONCEÑA
If you can find a 4 piece jazz band any better than this, lead by the greatest jazz guitar player ever, and backed up by these guys
Please share
It gets No Damn Better! Fr
I got nothing 😁
"Let's try some Nica's dream"
That was PROPER cool.
You know the guys are at a very high musical level when they agree to play a tune and no one needs to count it off or mention what key it will be played in. Wes just says the first section is latin, second is 4-4 swing and then they're all off! No one misses a beat or fluffs a note. Pure genius on the part of all four of them!
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 for me, that moment when musicians just jam some tune for first time is when magic in music happens, everyone is just listening to everyone else and working together, there is reason why some jazz artists in past never rehearsed before recording, they just went in and captured first take...you just get this extreme connection between players and it feels like something written carefully by one person, not few musicians trying tune for first time...but of course, you have to be at top of musical level to be able to do that
Fabulous 👌
I'll never get tired of Wes.
I mean never for me too.
Mad props to the film crew on this! Angles from everywhere... Sound is great too!
Nica’s Dream ranks right up there as one of my favorite compositions ever. Horace Silver was such a masterful composer. It’s terrific to hear Wes on this complex tune. He handles it as masterfully as everything else he touched.
I wish I had a nickel (or really a sawbuck) for every time I played Nica's Dream on a causal.
@@jessthehorse i wish i had a penny for every time i heard it totally butchered at sessions
His fingers glide over the fretboard. The only guitarist I know that can sweep pick with his thumb!
Wes certainly has the X factor.
Gotta hand it to the piano player also as he is brilliant.
Love Wes. Wow only one..that’s the great Shelley man on drums. Also in the early days had Shellys manhole in Hollywood we’re all the great played what a prince of a man..
it’s Han Bennink on druns
Mr. Wes Montgomery was "Absolutely Fantastic."
Wes plays so beautifully. His silences ring and so precise. They set up each note beautifully. His timing is quantum accurate. Plus he has the tradition in him. Authentic,so smooth and relaxed. His ancestral roots So home.The best of the best.
He's in the spirit of the history pocket and is at home.
No yearning for flash or fastness. It all serves the groove and the core feeling.
That timeless vibe is mellow and big like all timeless positive emotions and intents.
He was so in control, in command .. but at he same time the nicest person to play with. I wish so much
"his silences ring..."... you hit the sweet spot there, Stewart! I wish more of today's musicians could understand this....! Thanks so much for your observation.
Well said
@@ottokriete1153 Sensitivity has much more strength than loud flash. The enduring memories inside of a person are after all quiet and subtle.
Its crazy this was one of my introductions to jazz its still getting better all these years later
Mister Wes, a real one!
Seemed like a very nice man, who was genuinely interested in the other members abilities.
railcar123 Wes was a gentle soul and a genius as well....so sad he died so young....we lost so much when he passed......
@@paulyrulo1697 His legacy is our gain - his art is immortal and transcends his death - how can anyone not be sure that he might be weaving his spell somewhere else in this universe right now ?
paulyrulo1 な4たてな45g93
Wes Montgomery is the best guitarist ever in regards to jazz music. His melodious, rythmical and rapidity skills are exceptional.
Absolutely wonderful !!!
smokes a little, puts his cig down, talks a little to the drummer - then starts with those mind boggling chords!!!
I could hear Wes play over this tune endlessly. 2:10 makes me shiver
His sense of rhythm there is incredible
The greatest of all time.legend
Some 50 years ago my Dad introduced me to jazz with Wes Montgomery. I've loved it ever since.
All musicians are so very fortunate that footage like this of Wes exists. He was something very special. I studied with Joe Pass and so was he.
Larry Brown yes....I learned much about technique and jazz phrasing by these videos......keep them coming if they are still out there.....its priceless.
Larry Brown what?!? You had joe pass as a teacher? Or did you mean you just studied him? I know im late but i hope you answer
The video exists because it's from Europe. In the US all great jazz videos were erased by the shortsighted morons who kept crying about the high cost of videotape.
@@yandhi5016 well I'm late also, but I went to LBCC and one of students became instructor, took lessons from Mr Pass, became understudy...Frank Potenza.
Get em while they're alive!
I love Wes Montgomery. This is brilliant classic jazz guitar playing. I am also joining this thread because I studied with Joe Pass also. I love Joe Pass and his playing. He was an instructor at Musician's Institute in the 1980s. I attended Musician's Institute during that time
Beyond anything I hear today...I'm 24 and this is sooooooo great... Storytelling.
@ Patricia G. - Re: "Beyond anything I hear today...I'm 24 and this is sooooooo great... Storytelling."
This comment is many years late, sorry about that... Emily Remler, herself an all-time great jazz guitarist and another beautiful person and wonderful talent we lost all too soon, once said that you could hear the melody ("head") of every tune played by Wes when he took his solo breaks. She was absolutely right. His command of the form and content of the tune was always such that he told a story in music. That thematic way of playing is very rare, and not many even otherwise great performers have that quality.... but he sure did.
I "discovered" Wes Montgomery's playing when I was about your age, and was positively floored by him. Nothing has changed my mind down to the present day and it has been thirty-five years or so. He's still my absolute favorite jazz artist and jazz guitarist.
I tried learning this solo. In doing so you get a sense of his genius. To come up with that solo on the spot and effortlessly is incredible.
I have many transcripts of his solos.. and it gave me so much.
But as you say - being so effortless and fluid .. it takes a genius like Wes
@ Obus - Wes possessed a genius that was truly rare and singular. Fellow jazz cat and Indianapolis native bassist Larry Ridley, Wes' old partner from the early days, said after his death that "Wes Montgomery had something that only God can give a man." So there's no question the man was a genius musically, the genuine article.
However, it was also crucial to his development as a musician that he was in the right place at the right time, namely mid-20th century America where there was a thriving jazz scene and ample opportunities for a young musician to learn his craft in front of live audiences night after night, which is the best "school" for jazz of all. People say Wes was untutored and "uneducated" as a musician. I beg to differ: He was highly educated and experienced; he just didn't have a diploma from a conservatory to prove it. And as events proved, he never needed one.
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 AMEN to that!
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 Yep, jazz is a lonely path these days. Transcribing. Maybe play one tune at a jam session once a month, if the Towering Egos there (the big fishes in the tiny pond of my local jazz scene) will let you. Nobody wants to talk about the music, or study together. And the standard of improvisation is quite poor if we're totally honest. Occasionally someone appears from Berkeley or a jazz course, a local "superstar" who got a scholarship, and they play this cookie cutter boring abstract chord scale stuff that doesn't connect to the tradition.
@@PhrygianPhrog - I feel your pain, believe me. Been there, done that and have the scars to show for it. There's an old saying that jazz musicians "eat their young"... well, kind of graphic, but the point stands: There are so few people making a living or getting by in that scene that anyone with talent who rises, the others try and pull him back down. In most fields of endeavor, the older more experienced cats teach the younger ones how to succeed and how to conduct themselves, but in the jazz world, it is all too typical that the older, established cats don't give the up-and-comers the time of day. You're competing with them, you see, and the last thing they want is more competition.
Honestly, the scene isn't the same as it was fifty or more years ago. And it probably won't ever be that way again, sad to say. Live musical gigs are now very rare in comparison to those days because of technology and the fact that so few in-person gigs now exist for jazz players..... players of all kinds face this problem, but especially jazz cats. Oh, there are plenty of gigs.... but people expect you to play for free or close to it.
Love to see how the great Han Bennink enjoys playing his drums
Pim Jacob's solo is BEAUTIFUL
Prior to hearing this and other recordings Wes Montgomery made with this trio I had no idea how great Pim Jacobs and his Trio were! What wonderful and brilliant musicians!
Horace and Wes were a match made in heaven with this tune!!!😊
Bear in mind, these guys are all great great great.
Such a great tune with that 60's jazz phrasing that is so evocative. Pure Wes. Thanks for sharing this
Even when Wes sits back and comps he is amazing 4:24
This guy, Wes Montgomery, was unbelievable on that guitar! 👍❤
A young Rudd Jacobs on bass! Not well known in the states but we bassists know his immense talent well!
Some people find their calling in life and pursues it to perfection.
Ah hell yesss! Wes could do anything on that dang guitar. I love him and still miss him and his brothers!! 💕
Smooth! He always looked like he was enjoying playing his music. Never looked too serious.
I know. It gets to me every time I see him over to talk to the pianist, because when I'm playing I just kept going over the next section I play in.
Wes made it look easy. Beautiful.
I know. That's what strikes me when watching him play. Looks absolutely effortless. Also the way he plays with his thumb. This guy was a master.
Lauren Russell-Pank agree a master.
Concordo com você! I agree with you!
1122redbird - George Benson was tight with Wes and said that he had like a corn or wart on his thumb that was a small hard protrusion that gave him that unique sound with his thumb. It kind of sounds like a pick.
Also on appearing effortless - Wes said that it became second nature to play octaves but that it almost drove him to distraction as he taught himself the technique... I’m paraphrasing from my memory.
I read somewhere he could even talk while playing the lead. He could play so effortlessly, like no other.
GREAT. that is my comment
Wow, Han Bennink, who later turned to free jazz doing a great Job showing His roots in modern Jazz !
what beast this man was the top of jazz yesss
I'm still looking for a guitarist as fascinating as Wes. Endlessly inventive.
Prob been said a million times but I can see where Pat got his inspiration from.
Hello There Y'all Good Music Hell DammYes
I have seen a lot of guitars players, but I have seen very few guitar players that can play at Wes's level and make it look so effortless. Truly unique and one of a kind...
ジャズは、一人で聞いて、傷ついた心を 癒してくれる、薬みたいな効力がある。
Amazing version!
Brilliant intuitive musical.
My God Mr.Wes..😍...you were so damn cool (and handsome too)..😏
😊😊
The absolute greatest musician ever!!!! I love Wes!!!
Im in tears.. So beautifully done ..save a seat in heaven next to you Wes..😙😅😰😍😍😍
Simply genius !!!
I've played guitar most of my life and at 46 this level of playing is all still a mystery to me. It all comes so naturally to him, he's flying around the fretboard nailing all those octaves. The arpeggios are so fluid and he doesn't make a single mistake. His intonation is always perfect. I guess genius is usually beyond explanation. Just sit back and enjoy.
That's probaby because you're not good.
+Joshua Benavides on my worst day I'm better than you on your best day troll
joshua, is right .. you have to try harder ,you have to "spilt blood"
, studie
I don't know man, it's an outlet for them. They have anonymity so there's no consequence and they can offend at will. I was merely being self deprecating, expressing my awe of such an iconic talent. No amount of practice makes a player that good. It's genius and they're ability to extrapolate so much from so little. Finally someone with a brain saw my post :) Yes peace my friend.
+James C Actually if you listen carefully you'll notice his intonation is very frequently ever so slightly off - such is the nature of the guitar. Also I'm sure he would tell you that he constantly makes "mistakes", it's just that his instinct for transmogrifying them into musical motifs is highly refined.
Wes....the master of Universe.
more smooth you can't get!
The best jazz guitar...
Classic take on a wonderful song!
NO-ONE touches Wes!!
Fkn NO-ONE!!!😎🎸🎶
This is a masterpiece!!
A unique moment, and every time I see/hear this video can't help get in tears and feeling completely touched by Wes geniallity and this marvelous trio: Pim, Ruud & Han. What a pitty that only Han is still alive.
The greatest of them all
One word - beautiful
One of the true Giants of Jazz, the definition of the word unique, singular. Still awesome 50 years after his death.
Wes Montgomery!
He always seems like he's having fun in these clips playing with Pim & Co
Oh blessed Wes! you in heaven free us from all our mistakes on the fretboard.
Genius !
As a beginning guitar player Wes will be my go to guy along with George Benson and Norman Btown. Many other rate at the top but those are my three
Classic tune by all players. I’d love to know what Wes and the pianist chatted about during that bass solo.
My guitar hero, love his sound and his phrasing is unique.
Wes was so great
Yeah Wes. I'm doing a Nica's Dream Guitar Round Robin right now Wes and company are kicking it here and it makes me want to dance. Just heard Joe Pass'ss version. Completely different. Haunting and more abstract Kenny Burrell up next.
great stuff...........just start it and off they go.....and some great licks too from all.
Such an amazing composition! Thank god the euros got a lot of these guys on film.
Great document !
The whole performance was a tops!!
Yesss
I listen to this particular concert before I sleep and while I sleep and sometimes i remember a lot of his lines in his songs. Esp this one
Qué maravilla señores. Mi más sincero respeto y admiración, ante tan magnífica exposición.
died of a heart attack....smoking those cigs.....jesus what a loss.
Toured and recorded to an early grave, much like Jimi, still these clips are the best bar none, Wes da Bes' forever,
what a smile ..great to see how he interacts with these in Holland well known jazz musicians . By listening to it for the second time ..I realise how good the trio of Pim Jacobs sound and played...and the fun Wes seemed to have. True LEGEND in all of guitar jazz and music history..
Really, so beautiful it's almost painful. This is no ordinary song; it's brilliant. And this, of course, is none other than the incomparable Wes. Put the two together and boom!
He was the Jimi Hendrix of jazz guitar. He could do things with the guitar with ease that no one at that time could replicate.
I was wondering myself if there was any connection. Like the late great Hendrix, one always wonders what could have been/where would this have gone.
Different worlds.
No one then or now has ever been able to accurately replicate what Wes did on the guitar. There are people who play some octaves and claim they're got Wes nailed down but that's completely false. Octaves are where his style begins, not where it ends. A very few greats such as George Benson and Pat Martino have gotten somewhat close at times temporarily, on certain numbers, to what he did ... but that's as close as anyone has ever gotten. Only Wes could be Wes, know what I mean?
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 Exactly.. just octaves playing can become such a cliche in no time... Funny thing is, I once read an interview with Wes, where he said it came out from him just checking if the tuning (in octave) is right ... true or false ? we´ll never know ;)
@@tomasvanecek8626 - My opinion - for what it is worth - is that particular story is probably a tall tale or myth that got embellished over time... but you're right, we'll probably never know for certain. Wes didn't "invent" using octaves as a part of his playing, Django Reinhardt had used them previous to Wes at times, to name one example. Wes' notoriety comes from how fluently he used the technique and how seamlessly he segued between soloing in single notes, octaves and block chords. No one had ever done anything like that before, with that success and to that degree.
It's a cliche by now, but since no one ever told him what he was doing was "impossible," he just went and did it!
What an example of musicianship and humility. Too many musicians are total arrogant pricks but Wes truly seemed like a nice guy.
Talk about a perfect assembly of some of the most phenomenal jazz musicians ever.
They are way past "dialed in or in the groove" They are perfect
Happy Birthday, Wes 😀😎😀😎... RM
I wish we had Time Machines by now. Y'all know where one of my stops would be 😊
💓🌿🌸😀
Beautiful.
Pura classe!!!
LOVE THAT TUNE ! I like the pianist solo.
Thank you for posting this great performance, a treat to see Wes Montgomery in any setting, this one is no exception. The Dutch have always swung with great authority.
Fantastico !!!!!
The best guitarist ever on one of the most interesting and fun to play Jazz Masterpieces ever by the Great Horace Silver.....Thank You Both....!
Grandissimo Wes!, fraseggio naturalmente eccezionale
Absolutely masterful!!
The best was Wes. He was indeed a trend setter in modern jazz guitar.
Maravilloso Montgomery. Ejecución, sentido del tiempo, y elegancia única.
It's Wes' birthday; thanks so much to him and also to erwigfilms for the upload and the great biographical sketch; so well written, and moving.
Simply divine... when complexity leads to a sound and a phrasing as simple as that...
to think was recorded this only 3 years before he died breaks my heart. It seemed like he would have had decades of playing left