Remember:A Tribute To Wes

Remember:A Tribute To Wes

Will the last remaining jazz guitarist who hasn't recorded a tribute to Wes Montgomery please turn off the control board after he does? Yes, there have been a ton of salutes, but that shouldn't lessen interest in Pat Martino's <i>Remember</i>, which in having a guitarist of considerable stature in his own right cast personal meaning on Montgomery's strikingly original bop-meets-Django style covers all the bases a tribute should. Wes fans will enjoy hearing songs associated with him, ranging from his own "Full House" to the Cannonball Adderley classic, "Unit 7." Fans of Martino, a product of Philadelphia's soul-jazz scene of the late-'60s for whom Indianan Montgomery was a conquering hero, will enjoy hearing his speedier, flame-treated approach to the material and his knowingly spare use of Montgomery's patented octave runs. Since bravely coming back from a 1980 brain aneurism that forced him to relearn the guitar, Martino has had some impressive outings (as well as ones that succumbed to high concepts). Leading a keenly focused quintet including the perennially underrated pianist David Kikoski and bassist John Patitucci, he resets the bar for himself. <i>--Lloyd Sachs</i>