Fusion! Wes Montgomery with Strings

History

Fusion was the first album Montgomery recorded along with a string session. This would become more commonplace on his later releases on the Verve and A&M label.

It has been reissued by Original Jazz Classics with additional alternate takes and all the tracks are also available on the Wes Montgomery compilation CD The Complete Riverside Recordings.

Reception

In his Allmusic review, music critic Scott Yanow praised the album "As with his later albums, Montgomery's guitar solos here are brief and melodic but the jazz content is fairly high even if the emphasis is (with the exception of "Tune Up") on ballads... worth picking up; the music is quite pretty and pleasing."

Track listing

1. "All the Way" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) – 2:39
2. "Pretty Blue" (Wes Montgomery) – 3:40
3. "Pretty Blue" [Alternate take] (Montgomery) – 2:58
4. "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (Elliott) – 2:51
5. "Prelude to a Kiss" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Irving Gordon) – 3:08
6. "The Girl Next Door" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) – 3:08
7. "My Romance" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:31
8. "God Bless the Child" (Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr.) – 3:19
9. "Tune Up" (Miles Davis) – 3:14
10. "Tune Up" [Alternate take] (Davis) – 5:09
11. "Tune Up" [Alternate take] (Davis) – 4:44
12. "Somewhere" (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) – 3:30
13. "Baubles, Bangles & Beads" (George Forrest, Robert Wright, Alexander Borodin) – 2:19

Personnel

Production notes: