California Dreaming (Vinyl) – Wes Montgomery

The last album Wes Montgomery released for Verve in his lifetime – and among his last works ever, just before a trio of albums for A&M released in his final year – was 1967’s ‘California Dreaming’. Like many of the guitarist’s Verve recordings, the album found Montgomery pivoting away from proper jazz and more toward pop fare from what the original liner notes deemed ‘the uptight, outasight, everything’s-gonna-be-alright-’60s’ – all produced with brio by Creed Taylor and arranged by Don Sebesky. The album pairs Montgomery’s signature octave-driven guitar style with lush, string-laden orchestrations and a large, varied ensemble featuring luminaries like Ray Beckenstein and Stan Webb on saxophone and Herbie Hancock on piano. Key tracks include the title tune, a Top 5 hit for The Mamas and The Papas, along with then-current pop instrumentals by Bobby Hebb (‘Sunny’) and Sol Lake (‘More, More, Amor’, ‘Green Peppers’, ‘Winds of Barcelona’).