More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery (2025), by Chicago Jazz Orchestra Featuring Bobby Broom; Jeff Lindberg – Artistic Director

This is one of those CDs that as soon as I heard it on the radio, I knew I had to have it.

I heard the title track, “More, More, Amor,” on WBGO Radio 88.3 FM. Later that night, I listened to the entire album on YouTube before ultimately purchasing the download from Amazon and the physical CD from the Chicago Jazz Orchestra directly.

 

This is a recording not only of classic tunes composed by iconic jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, but also standards that he had recorded, such as “What the World Needs Now Is Love” by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, “Somewhere” by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and “Dreamsville” by Henry Mancini, Jay Livingston, and Raymond Evans.

 

Of course, the album also includes the requisite Montgomery tracks “Four on Six” and “West Coast Blues,” among others.

 

As you would expect, the Chicago Jazz Orchestra gives the record the vintage feel of the classic swinging sound of big-time jazz bands from the 1940s to the 1970s, all the while sounding modern and contemporary.

 

And Chicago-based guitarist Bobby Broom is the perfect complement to the Chicago Jazz Orchestra’s bedrock of sound, bringing popping electric bop to the proceedings with his nimble and tactile playing.

 

I’m surprised I haven’t come across Bobby Broom before. He’s been around for over 45 years, and going by his albums streaming on his website, he’s one of the best jazz guitarists out there and particularly adept at crafting catchy covers of pop and rock classics.

 

This is one of the best orchestral, jazz, and guitar albums available, and aficionados and casual fans of any of those three categories will find something of auditory delight here.

 

--Raj Manoharan