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Resonance Records is not your typical record label. While they do release a steady stream of solid new music from today’s jazz artists, that’s not what makes them truly special. Their tireless and thorough efforts behind the scenes to bring previously-unheard music to modern-day listeners is their most important mission, and it’s one of historic proportions. And what’s more, they truly do it for the love of the music first, with return on investment put in its place as a lesser priority. In fact, Resonance is part of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.<\/p>\n
One of the label’s earliest releases was 2012’s superb Echoes of Indiana Avenue<\/em><\/a>, a collection of previously unreleased recordings documenting the early years of jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery<\/strong><\/a>. Not long after that, they released an equally remarkable Bill Evans Trio<\/strong><\/a> live set, and more recently their John Coltrane<\/strong><\/a> album, Offering: Live at Temple University<\/em>, earned liner notes essayist Ashley Kahn<\/strong> a Grammy award.<\/p>\n But it seems that with all of those projects, Resonance was just warming up. The latest historical album from the label is another Wes Montgomery collection, In the Beginning: Early Recordings from 1948 \u2013 1958<\/em>. Compiling recordings from a wide array of sources, the 2CD set documents a period of the guitarist’s history that has been largely unheard until now.<\/p>\n The Turf Club, Indianapolis, circa mid-1950s. Photograph by Philip Kahl. Courtesy of the Buddy Montgomery estate.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The Wes Montgomery recordings that make up the first 17 tracks on In the Beginning<\/em> were originally recorded by a 22-year-old Butler University student named Philip Kahl<\/strong>. The Montgomery family had copies of these, which they first played back for Resonance producer Zev Feldman<\/strong> during the early stages of the Echoes of Indiana Avenue<\/em> project. Montgomery’s son Robert, who heads the family’s estate, introduced Feldman to pianist Buddy Montgomery<\/strong>‘s widow Ann; she had something she wanted Feldman to hear. \u201cShe had tapes from Philip Kahl,\u201d recalls Feldman. He says that many years earlier, \u201cKahl had apparently circulated copies of his tape among friends, and they had had copies. For years!\u201d Those tapes included audio from three different Indianapolis venues: The Turf Club (a segregated music lounge), The Missile Lounge (\u201cwhere Cannonball Adderley<\/strong><\/a> discovered Wes,\u201d notes Feldman), and a jam session recorded at the home of Montgomery’s sister Ervina.<\/p>\n At left: The Turf Club ad for The Montgomery-Johnson Quintet, circa mid-1950s. Courtesy of Duncan Schiedt.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe listened to it,\u201d says Feldman. \u201cAnd I knew right away, and I said, ‘this has got to be the Holy Grail for Wes Montgomery fans!’ Because you could have only dreamed about stuff from that era. Of course we knew he had played during those years, but no one had any documentation.\u201d The family asked if Resonance would want to release it. But to get the best possible sound quality, Feldman really wanted to locate the original tapes, not merely dubs of unknown generation. \u201cIt’s detective work,\u201d Feldman observes. \u201cSometimes, all you have is a name and Google.\u201d Feldman found the family, and learned that Kahl had passed away recently. But they had the tape reels, and an arrangement was made to allow the release of those sessions. \u201cI made a day trip and drove to Arizona, got the reels, and brought them back to L.A. Then we did a 96\/24 transfer from the tapes.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/wes_montgomery2.jpg\")
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