Caught Between Jazz and Pop: The Contested Origins, Criticism, Performance Practice, and Reception of Smooth Jazz. Page: 55
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Some critics despised Montgomery's new style. Harvey Pekar, in an infamous
review of California Dreaming, offers a scathing indictment of Montgomery's recent
work:
Now that Montgomery has attained some measure of commercial success, I
wonder if he'll ever make another good album.., this LP is the worst I've heard
by him. Compared with his best improvisation, his playing here is childishly
simple and monotonous. The single-note lines that have been the most
interesting aspect of his work are all but absent here... At least he's consistent,
though. There's not a good track on the LP. I can't blame Montgomery for
wanting to make money, but I hope we haven't heard the last of him as a great
jazz artist. Maybe he'll record serious music again under a pseudonym.59
In the liner notes of a compilation of Montgomery's work, J.R. Taylor argues that
Montgomery's talents were lost:
Still, we must regret that Montgomery's gifts were turned so completely toward
the radio industry's idea of what a good record was, for that idea allowed little
room for large areas of his talent. And when stricken by a fatal heart attack at the
age of 43 in June of 1968, Montgomery had left behind little first-rate recorded
evidence to show for a quarter of a century of brilliant musicianship... Nearly all
of what will eventually answer for Montgomery's creative reputation was
recorded for Riverside.6o
Not everyone considered Montgomery's crossover work an artistic failure.
In a surprisingly open-minded record review, Dan Morgenstern not only interprets
Montgomery's popular works, but he justifies the entire crossover style:
This splendid album is, I guess, what the purists would call 'commercial.' That
means, in the present case, that the selection of tunes is varied and tasteful, that
the tracks are not overly long, that arrangements have been thoughtfully crafted,
that excellent musicians have been provided to interpret them and back the
featured artist, that the music has been carefully recorded and mastered, and the
packaging is handsome. (Take the opposite of almost all these ingredients and
you'll have a pretty good description of what some people consider honest,
59 Harvey Pekar, Record Review of California Dreaming by Wes Montgomery, Down Beat, May
18, 1967, 29.
6o J.R. Taylor, Liner notes to Pretty Blue, Milestone M-47o3o, 1975. J.R. Taylor was a former
curator for the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies.55
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West, Aaron J. Caught Between Jazz and Pop: The Contested Origins, Criticism, Performance Practice, and Reception of Smooth Jazz., dissertation, December 2008; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9722/m1/66/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .