In 1965, Wes Montgomery was having strong commercial success with his Verve recordings and was just a year away from his final pop period for the A&M label.
That year the guitarist, who was afraid of planes, was persuaded to make what would be his only European tour.
Fortunately he was well documented overseas and appeared on several television shows including an episode of the British series Tempo from May 7, 1965.
Montgomery is joined by pianist Stan Tracey, bassist Rick Laird and drummer Jackie Dougan for “Here’s That Rainy Day” which they turn into a bossa-nova.
This version starts out sounding a little like the George Shearing Quintet (although without vibes) due to the tight voicing of guitar and piano; Wes takes a relaxed solo that includes plenty of his beautiful trademark octaves.
-Scott Yanow
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