Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery - Dynamic Duo (1967 US Verve Gatefold LP)

Vinyl: VG+
Sleeve: VG+
Obi: None

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Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery - Jimmy and Wes: The Dynamic Duo | Vinyl LP - 1967 US Verve Stereo Gatefold (V6-8678) with Japanese insert

Both Smith and Montgomery were at their commercial peak in 1966. Creed Taylor had been pushing the pair toward arrangements that would let their playing reach pop radio audiences. Oliver Nelson, who had been writing scores for television and films, was a natural choice to write for a large ensemble that could showcase both soloists simultaneously without crowding either.

The results are livelier than the commercial strategy suggests. "Down by the Riverside" opens at full swing, the big band setting the temperature before Smith and Montgomery trade. "Night Train" runs just over eight minutes, Jimmy Forrest's 1951 blues given a patient, building arrangement that keeps returning to Wes's guitar. "James and Wes" on Side B is Smith's composition, a blues in the soul-jazz mode that becomes more open as it develops. "13 (Death March)" is Nelson's. A minor-key, slightly ominous piece that was singled out in several contemporary reviews as the most interesting arrangement on the record. 

Wes Montgomery died on June 15, 1968. The three days they spent at Van Gelder's studio in September 1966 were their only studio collaboration.

US pressing but comes with a Japanese insert, so likely a US import for the Japanese market.