Chicago Jazz Orchestra, More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery Review

Chicago Jazz Orchestra featuring Bobby Broom: Montgomery, remembered in technicolor

by Nolan DeBuke

Wes Montgomery was a genre-defining jazz guitarist with his stylistic revolution, a melodic storyteller with a thumbprint as indelible as his thumb-plucked tone. With More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery, The Chicago Jazz Orchestra (CJO), under the direction of Jeff Lindberg, pays homage to that legacy. Anchored by guitarist Bobby Broom, whose reverence and interpretive fluency make him a solid voice for the project. The ten tracks become an immersive, vibrant, and historically attuned orchestral jazz interpretation

Montgomery’s harmonic sophistication and lyrical lines were a bridge between hard bop and his commercial crossover success. His later albums on Verve and A&M, and those shaped by arrangers like Don Sebesky and Oliver Nelson, placed him in lush, cinematic surroundings, which the Chicago Jazz Orchestra echoes here. That’s not a coincidence. Some of the original Nelson and Sebesky arrangements are heard anew on this album, lovingly transcribed by Lindberg, while others are reimagined by Alex Brown, Tom Garling, and Charley Harrison.

The CJO, now in its fifth decade, brings its personality to form a synergy with Broom. The arrangements feature the orchestra in a dialogue with Broom. With strings added to six tracks and classic big band settings in four, the album’s textural spectrum mirrors Montgomery’s catalog of those later albums.

The opener, “Road Song,” has a respectful exuberance to Wes and his music. Broom’s melody and solo mirrors Wes’ style, but he still brings his own sound. Broom’s warm phrasing as the arrangement leans into the tune’s late-career charm, evoking Montgomery’s Road Song album without imitation. Pharez Whitted’s trumpet solo is lyrical and buoyant.

“What the World Needs Now Is Love” expands Bacharach’s plea for humanity into a richly orchestrated waltz statement. Broom floats above a harmonic canopy in a delicate dance between the horn and strings.

“Four on Six,” perhaps Montgomery’s most canonical original, gets a rhythmic. Opening with a shifting meter figure before settling into a swinging 4/4, it showcases Broom’s playing, filling the space with phrases that breathe, coil, and unfurl with poetic patterns. Montgomery’s storytelling ability in his playing was one of his greatest abilities.

“West Coast Blues” is another arrangement with robust ensemble writing and a deep pocket of drummer Kobie Watkins and bassist Dennis Carroll. Broom leans into the blues core of his playing with soulful restraint, never overplaying, always honoring the groove.

“Somewhere” captures the cinematic statement of Montgomery’s catalog. Bernstein’s ballad becomes an expansive tone poem with strings, winds, and brass unfurling into widescreen textures, while Broom plays with understated poignancy. The piece becomes an emotional fulcrum, reminding us how Montgomery’s ballad interpretations conveyed as much pathos as any vocalist.

The title track, “More, More, Amor,” lives up to its name. The strings decorate and swell with Latin-tinged longing. Broom leans into the tune’s romantic contours, conjuring Montgomery’s Goin’ Out of My Head era.

“Fried Pies” returns us to the earthy organ and big band style and the feel of Montgomery’s Riverside years. It’s a standout for its energy, and Broom digs in with bluesy hardbop, and the rhythm section lays it down with conviction. Dan Trudell’s piano solo is wonderful.

“Baubles, Bangles, and Beads” is a delight. Scott Burns delivers a fine tenor sax solo, while Broom’s phrasing dances effortlessly between lyricism and bebop geometry. The tune sparkles like its title, yet never feels ornamental.

In “Dreamsville” features lush orchestration as the ensemble achieves synthesis with the guitar. This celebrates Montgomery’s exceptional ballad artistry and breathes within it.

The finale, “Boss City,” brims with swagger and syncopation. Victor Garcia’s trumpet solo burns with Latin fire, and the added percussion gives the track a rhythmic edge, elevating the classic to a contemporary festival closer.

Bobby Broom does not try to impersonate Wes directly; he channels him, knowing when to style closely to Wes’ sound and when to explore his harmonic language, rooted yet personal. Broom listens to the ensemble. His solos develop like narratives, always in conversation with the arrangement, which Wes was so gifted at doing.

The CJO is at its finest here. Their dynamic control, orchestral blend, and agility across swing, Latin, and cinematic modes speak to decades of cohesion. Soloists like Burns, Whitted, and Garcia are integral voices in this musical dialogue.

More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery is a tribute in spirit as it revives the storytelling elegance, swing, and melodic richness that defined Montgomery’s music. This album offers both a study and a joyride. Wes would’ve approved, not just of the notes, but of the intent. Because here, it’s not just about playing the tunes. It’s about loving the man behind them.