CHICAGO JAZZ ORCHESTRA featuring BOBBY BROOM

MORE AMOR, A TRIBUTE TO WES MONTGOMERY

Independent Label

I’m a big Wes Montgomery fan, so I was quite excited to listen to the Chicago Jazz Orchestra’s tribute album celebrating Wes, featuring Bobby Broom on guitar.  Before his untimely death, in 1968, at the young age of 43, Montgomery’s albums shocked America as they climbed the Billboard jazz charts with six-figure sales. His music crossed over, from just jazz radios stations to Easy Listening, but also to R&B radio.

The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, with Jeff Lindberg as their Artistic director, represents the many performances Wes Montgomery made with popular orchestrators of the day like that of Oliver Nelson, Don Sebesky and Johnny Pate. This ensemble opens with “Road Song” from the hit, number one album by Montgomery of the same title. I played that 33-1/3rpm album until I wore the grooves out of that piece of musical licorice pizza.

They follow this arrangement with the Bacharach hit song, “What the World Needs Now is Love.”  It opens with Dan Trudell tinkling the piano keys before Bobby Broom takes over with his guitar mastery.

“… Wes was a major star back then.  He was on variety shows and it was never lost on me that my heroes were playing pop music. Benson, Wes, and WRVR taught me a lot about playing jazz and being accessible,” Bobby Broom praised George Benson and Wes Montgomery as inspirations and mentors to his own successful career.

True, Wes Montgomery made jazz accessible to a wider audience.  On this “More Amor” album, arrangers like Alex Brown, Tom Garling and Charley Harrison continue that tradition. This is orchestrated music that will touch souls and pull at heartstrings. The ballad “Somewhere” is beautifully executed by Bobby Broom, along with the string section of the orchestra. The arrangement is lush and lovely. The ten songs recorded here represent a chapter in the history of jazz when young lions joined hands with big bands and orchestras to reimagine the modern repertory orchestra movement. These songs, and their well written arrangements, bring back warm memories.

Bobby Broom was born January 18, 1961, in Harlem NYC, but moved to Chicago in 1984 and became an integral part of that thriving midwestern jazz and blues scene. He also records with The Bobby Broom Trio and his organ group, The Bobby Broom Organi-Sation.

Their beautifully orchestrated production of “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” is another favorite, along with all the original music of Wes Montgomery.

The excellence of this orchestra, along with Bobby Broom’s exceptional talent, is given credit below.

RHYTHM SECTION: Dan Trudell, piano; Dennis Carroll, bass; Kobie Watkins, drums; Luciano Antonio, guitar; Edwrd Harrison & Jean Leroy, percussion. WOODWINDS: John Wojciechowski, lead alto saxophone/soprano sax/flute; Bill Overton, alto & tenor saxophones/flute/alto flute; Rajiv Halim, alto saxophone/flute/alto flute; Scott Burns, tenor sax/flute/alto flute/clarinet; Ted Hogarth, baritone sax/bass clarinet/ Kimberly Risinger, flute/alto flute/ Elizandro Montoya Garcia, clarinet. TRUMPET: Roger Ingram(lead); Victor Garcia, Doug Scharf, Pharez Whitted & Art Davis. TROMBONES: Steve Duncan (lead), Steve Wiest, Luke Malewicz, Raphel Crawford, & Thomas Matta, bass trombone. VIOLIN 1: Katherine Hughes (concertmaster), Thomas Yang, Steven Winkler, Natalie Frakes, Karla Galva, Eden Crumbly. VIOLIN 2. Lisa Fako, Carol Kalvonjian, Sheila Hanford, Melanie Sarapa, & Emily Randle. VIOLAS: Jeff Yang, Ray Ostwald, Mary Odin. CELLOS: Jill Kaeding, Dorothy Deen & Ronald Chambers.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil