For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver

Description

GRAMMY winner Christian McBride returns with a tribute to jazz icons Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, and Oliver Nelson. In September 1966, organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery met in Rudy Van Gelder's famous studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. For three days, the two jazz icons recorded two now-classic albums: The Dynamic Duo (1966) and Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes (1968), with the support of the great Oliver Nelson on arrangements. These two albums proved instrumental in the careers of another duo: the great bassist Christian McBride and master organist Joey DeFrancesco. Today, they have decided to pay tribute to their youthful idols with this third album from the Christian McBride Big Band. The repertoire of "For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver" is drawn from the Smith/Montgomery recordings, featuring a mix of originals and standards that capture the same vibrant spirit. The CMBB features a host of elite musicians, blending renowned veterans with rising stars, most of whom are bandleaders in their own right: trumpeters Frank Greene, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon Lee, Nabate Isles, and Anthony Hervey; trombonists Michael Dease, Steve Davis, James Burton, and Douglas Purviance; and saxophonists Steve Wilson, Todd Bashore, Ron Blake, Dan Pratt, and Carl Maraghi.