Released in 1966 on Verve Records, Jimmy & Wes (The Dynamic Duo), captures the only full-length studio collaboration between Hammond B3 organist Jimmy Smith and guitarist Wes Montgomery. Produced by Creed Taylor and arranged by Oliver Nelson, Jimmy & Wes brought together two of jazz’s most distinctive voices in an expansive big band setting. Recorded over three days in September 1966 at Rudy Van Gelder’s Englewood Cliffs studio, the sessions featured a brass-and reed-heavy ensemble and a top-tier rhythm section with drummer Grady Tate and bassist Richard Davis.
Montgomery’s melodic guitar lines and Smith’s fiery organ grooves find a vibrant setting in Nelson’s tight, punchy arrangements — rich in harmonic color and rhythmic drive. The program blends originals and standards, including Smith’s bluesy “James and Wes” and a reimagined “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” transformed into a simmering, minor-key vamp. Nelson’s orchestrations give the album cinematic sweep without sacrificing the interplay between its stars. The result is a rare meeting of two jazz giants, captured during a period of broad popular success, with the added presence of one of the era’s most accomplished arrangers.
The Verve Vault series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.
