Disco Delivery: Vincent Montana, Jr. (1928-2013)

I'm well overdue with this, but out of all the people in the music world, particularly those associated with the soul and disco worlds who have passed recently like Damon Harris, once of The Temptations; Major Harris of The Delfonics, Bobbie Smith of The Spinners and most recently, Richie Havens, I couldn't possibly let the passing of Vince Montana, on April 13th go unacknowledged here. As a vibraphonist, arranger and producer, if there was anyone whose work and pedigree spoke to the high level of musicianship that underlined so much of what made and still makes disco as foundational as it is, it's Vince Montana. One of the key members of MFSB's first generation lineup, which was essentially Philly International and by extension, Philly Soul's house band, having either played on, or arranged a number of Philly Soul standards, going back to The Delfonics' "La La Means I Love You," like many of the musicians who graced the Philly sound, and later many disco sessions, Vince came with a background rich in musical experience. Having been a working musician since his teens, rooted in Jazz, having played with the likes of Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown, by the time Montana would put together The Salsoul Orchestra, with many moonlighting Philly and Latin players; Vince, by then pushing 50, was more than a seasoned pro..

Loleatta Holloway and Vince Montana, Jr.
(courtesy: Facebook)

With him and Joe Bataan as the artists who ushered in the landmark Salsoul label, with his own Salsoul Orchestra as the flagship act, while he (and Bataan) would have misgivings about the Salsoul experience, being embroiled in royalty disputes with them for far longer than he had worked for them; the Salsoul Orchestra, which he freely acknowledged, would give him the platform to, as he put it, "do something for himself," giving him a level of name recognition which remained elusive while working in Jazz and even later for Gamble & Huff.

After leaving Salsoul, Vince would have another strong run on the Atlantic label, with his own Goody Goody album (featuring his daughter, Jazz singer Denise Montana on vocals) and two records for his own Montana Orchestra (one of which I had written about here back in November 2006). Even after disco, Vince remained active well into the 1980s and up into the 2000s, releasing music on his own Philly Sound Works label, and arranging records for the Pet Shop Boys, Robin S., Randy Crawford and for Masters at Work's Nuyorican Soul in the late 90s.

Disco Delivery #28: Montana - A Dance Fantasy Inspired by Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978, Atlantic)
Among the posted tributes from his peers and collaborators on his Facebook fanpage, guitarist Bobby Eli in his own message would say that the Philly sound to him was "soul music dressed up in a tuxedo.., a sound that was topped off by the beauty of Vince Montana's masterful vibes. Vince's contributions through his arrangements and his touch on the vibraphone, riding atop many Philly productions (Kirk DeGiorgio's 2 hour tribute mix at RBMA Radio is a good primer) was undoubtedly one of the main elements which helped give the Philly sound that extra touch of class. As both Bobby and Vince emphasize in their interview for the 1995 WGBH-BBC Rock & Roll documentary series, the Philly sound, which gave birth to the Disco sound, more than being just the sound of a place, a label or even of a group of producers, was the sound of the musicians, like Vince, Bobby, Earl Young, Norman Harris, Larry Washington (among others) and the unique individual style and talent each of them brought to it.

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Vincent Montana, Jr. (1928-2013)

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