About

Wes Montgomery’s music swings… and shines, bounces, delights and comforts. His is a warm and endlessly witty presence not unlike that of Charlie Parker. Never once, on any of his recordings, does he seem to lose his spark. The freshness and melodic inventiveness are ever-present and what comes across is his love for the audience. This is a man who never forgot to pack his music with joy. So, on the face of it, any newly-discovered Wes recording is important. He means that much to the art form. But this release is of considerably more than merely historical interest. It gives Wes fans a lost, magical lens into his creative process. – London Jazz News

The plus side of the fine new archival release from Grammy award winning jazz label Resonance Records is that for the first time most of us are getting to hear some incredibly high quality, pre-fame recordings by influential guitar icon Wes Montgomery.  Wes Montgomery's Back on Indiana Avenue: The Carroll DeCamp Recordings were made before Wes's ascension to international fame, probably in the mid 1950s. Not much is known about the original productions but the important thing is that along the way someone convinced Mr. DeCamp to preserve the tapes...

And after a fire later engulfed DeCamp's home, those safety copies are all that remain. But what remains they are! 

Here you get to hear the great guitarist ascending, just before his seminal releases on Riverside Records including terrific versions of songs like Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight." His band is swinging and the sound is remarkably quiet and clear; for recordings probably made on some sort of reel to reel tape machine of the period, there is very little in the way of tape hiss or distortion. – Audiophile Review