For any and all jazz guitarists releasing a CD, the decision to cover a song by the godfather — Wes Montgomery — is certainly not an easy one. I would liken it to a martial artist trying to do a remake of Bruce Lee‘s Enter the Dragon; you don’t just up and decide you’re going to do it. You have to think about the implications. If you screw up one of Montgomery’s timeless classics (and they all are timeless classics) you’re going to get hammered by the incredibly understanding and supportive guitar community. *cough* If you do a so-so job, you’re still going to get hammered. In fact, if you do anything less than a stellar job you’ll be raked over the coals.

So when San Francisco-based guitarist Terrence Brewer sent me a few of his CDs to listen to, and I noticed that one of them was an entire CD full of Montgomery covers, I had to pause for a minute.

Groovin’ Wes is an eight-song “Musical expression of admiration for Wes Montgomery.” In an organ trio setting (accompanied by organist Wil Blades and drummer Micah McClain), the first thing I noticed was that Brewer’s tone is very nice. I mean, very nice. Warm, smooth, and with a sensitive touch that shows he definitely spent his time in the Montgomery woodshed. I don’t know if Brewer is playing sans-pick or not, but if he is playing with one then he’s certainly put in a lot of effort into his tone.

Brewer’s song choices for the project certainly focuses on his strength. Lots of blues influence with a hint of smooth jazz, I imagine that his influences range from Montgomery to Bobby Broom to Grant Green to George Benson (just a guess). There are no 32-bar hyper fast bebop improvisations, nor any “look at me” three-octave arpeggio runs going on here. What you get is a very tight trio playing off each other very well and digging down deep into the heart of each song. They find the groove, expose it, and polish it up to a fine sheen. I’m a huge fan of the organ trio, so Groovin’ Wes is right up my alley.

Highlight songs for me are In Your Own Sweet Way and Here’s That Rainy Day. Road Song also gets special mention as the up-tempo track. Blades does a particularly great job with his solo while McClain matches Blades’ dynamics beat for beat; a definite head-bopper!

I’m looking forward to listening to the other CDs Brewer sent me, but I want to spend a few more days with Groovin’ Wes first; after a few rotations it’s gotten under my skin in a good way, and I want to absorb it more.

Groovin’ Wes, and Brewer’s other CDs, are available at CDBaby.com, Amazon.com, iTunes, and Borders.com.

Track Listing

1. Speak Low
2. Bumpin’ on Sunset
3. In Your Own Sweet Way
4. Road Song
5. Bumpin’
6. Here’s That Rainy Day
7. Yesterdays
8. Dearly Beloved