In his quite short life, Wes Montgomery (1923-68) seems to have worked himself to death. Aside from holding down several day jobs at first to help support his family and having taught himself the guitar, he was soon gigging in clubs in Indianapolis at night, often with his brothers.

By the late 1950s he was in and out of the studios making albums under his own name with and without his brothers and in demand to perform with the best of his contemporaries, as is evident in this latest Avid double-CD compilation. It’s a follow-up to the label’s Three Classic Albums Plus (AMSC1027) and includes two of Wes’ finest albums So Much Guitar! (with Hank Jones et al) and Full House, with Kelly and the on-form Johnny Griffin.

The Montgomery Brothers in Canada is a relatively sedate outing, made at a Vancouver club (and recorded on 16 April, not September, as Avid suggests), Wes fluent and never short of an original idea.

So Much Guitar! has him in the elite company of Jones and Carter, and is markedly more animated, Wes’ own ‘Twisted Blues’ highlighting the rapidity of his playing as does the lively version of ‘Cottontail’, this album just one of the many Riverside releases on which so much of his reputation now rests.

Bags Meets Wes! Is another, Wes’s solo on Jackson’s ‘SKJ’ chorded, Jones’s steadfast bass and Jackson’s creativity making it a must. Full House’s title track is another Wes original and moves well; in fact, the whole album overflows with adroit guitar lines. No wonder his style – thumb-picking and all, continues to resonate with today’s guitarists. Don’t hesitate.