Willow Weep for Me (album)
Encyclopedia
Willow Weep for Me is a jazz
album recorded by guitar
ist Wes Montgomery
and released in 1969. It reached number 12 on the Billboard
Jazz album chart in 1969. At the Grammy Awards of 1970 Willow Weep for Me won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
.
used recordings from the sessions that produced Smokin' at the Half Note
and hired arranger Claus Ogerman
to write string and brass arrangements for "Willow Weep for Me", "Portrait of Jennie," "Oh! You Crazy Moon," and "Misty." Subsequent reissues erased the new backing arrangements.
At the Grammy Awards of 1970 Willow Weep for Me won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
album recorded by guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
and released in 1969. It reached number 12 on the Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
Jazz album chart in 1969. At the Grammy Awards of 1970 Willow Weep for Me won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
.
History
After Montgomery's death, Verve RecordsVerve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
used recordings from the sessions that produced Smokin' at the Half Note
Smokin' at the Half Note
Smokin' at the Half Note is a jazz album recorded by Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio and released in 1965.-History:The album is considered important to the history of jazz because it paired Miles Davis's rhythm section, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb, with Montgomery...
and hired arranger Claus Ogerman
Claus Ogerman
Claus Ogerman is a German musical arranger/ orchestrator, conductor, and composer, best known for his works with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall.-Life and work:...
to write string and brass arrangements for "Willow Weep for Me", "Portrait of Jennie," "Oh! You Crazy Moon," and "Misty." Subsequent reissues erased the new backing arrangements.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Richard Grinell called the original release "... prime, mature Wes Montgomery stretching out in full, with unbelievable confidence in his ear and technique at all times, experimenting now and then with mild electronic effects devices. The sound is oddly dim and shallow on the LP, which is surprising since the Smokln' album sounded so good."At the Grammy Awards of 1970 Willow Weep for Me won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that will start being presented in 2012.The Award was previously called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group from 1959 to 2011. The award will formally be discontinued from 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
.
Track listing
- "Willow Weep for MeWillow Weep for Me"Willow Weep for Me" is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. It is mostly known as a jazz standard, but it was a Top 40 hit for the British duo Chad & Jeremy in 1964.-Notable recordings:...
" (Ann RonellAnn RonellAnn Rosenblatt, known as Ann Ronell was an American composer and lyricist best known for the jazz standard "Willow Weep for Me" .- Biography :...
) – 7:44 - "Portrait of Jenny" (Burdge, Robinson) – 5:06
- "MistyMisty (song)"Misty" is a jazz standard written in 1954 by the pianist Erroll Garner.Originally composed as an instrumental following the traditional 32-bar format, the tune later had lyrics by Johnny Burke and became the signature song of Johnny Mathis, reaching #12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in 1959...
" (Johnny BurkeJohnny Burke (lyricist)Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
, Erroll GarnerErroll GarnerErroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard...
) – 2:48 - "Oh, You Crazy Moon" (Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 5:26
- "The Surrey with the Fringe on TopThe Surrey With the Fringe On Top"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" is a show tune from the 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma! It is the second song of the show, following the opening number, "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'."...
" (Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
) – 5:29 - "Four on Six" (Wes Montgomery) – 9:33
- "Impressions" (John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
) – 6:45 - "Blues on Purpose"
Personnel
- Wes MontgomeryWes MontgomeryJohn Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Wynton KellyWynton KellyWynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Paul ChambersPaul ChambersPaul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Jimmy CobbJimmy Cobb-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Claus OgermanClaus OgermanClaus Ogerman is a German musical arranger/ orchestrator, conductor, and composer, best known for his works with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall.-Life and work:...
– arranger, conductor
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Billboard Jazz Albums | 12 |