After well over a year since the release of Satisfaction Guaranteed, United Souls’ series of box sets collecting the Philadelphia International label’s complete studio albums is confirmed to resume with the April 7 release of Love Is the Message: The Sound of Philadelphia Vol. 3. The third installment of the series promised to eventually encompass 15 volumes contains the following eight studio albums: The Ebonys, The Ebonys (Philadelphia International KZ 32419, 1973); MFSB, Love Is the Message (Philadelphia International KZ 32707, 1973); Bunny Sigler, That’s How Long I’ll Be Loving You (Philadelphia…
Review: Wes Montgomery, “In the Beginning”
Never-before-heard music by Wes Montgomery isn’t easy to come by. Montgomery – an influence to George Benson, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Metheny and every great guitar man in between – didn’t enter a recording studio until 25 years of age, didn’t record as a leader until another ten years had elapsed, and was dead ten years after that, felled by a heart attack at age 45. His body of work can neatly be divided into three distinct periods at different labels: Riverside (1959-1964), Verve (1964-1966) and A&M (1967-1968). The latter two stints were…
In His “Reality”: Philly Soul Meets Jazz On Monk Montgomery Reissue
UPDATE 9/10/13: Just yesterday, we published the following review of Monk Montgomery’s 1974 album Reality, produced, arranged, and co-written by a true legend of soul music and architect of The Sound of Philadelphia, Mr. Bobby Martin. Today, word has arrived that Martin, 83, has passed away following a brief illness. A masterful orchestrator of horns and strings with a background steeped in jazz, Martin created music that was sweet and sophisticated, romantic and wrenching. and always positively soulful. Whether with Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, The O’Jays, The Manhattans, L.T.D. or Monk Montgomery,…
Wes Montgomery’s Lost Recordings Discovered On “Indiana Avenue”
Though Wes Montgomery died in 1968 aged just 45, the Indiana-born jazz guitarist made such an impression that his body of work has influenced an entire generation of guitar players, from George Benson to Pat Metheny, Jimi Hendrix and everyone in between. In a period of roughly ten years, Montgomery had three distinct periods at different labels: Riverside (1959-1964), Verve (1964-1966) and A&M (1967-1968), the latter two under the aegis of producer Creed Taylor. Maverick producer Taylor moved Montgomery away from his pure jazz roots to the vanguard of the “mod jazz”…
