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The music on this album is timeless. That is to say that it has held up every well considering it was made in the mid-1960, a period when many jazz musicians were forced by record companies and economics to record the popular music of the day. The disc opens with Miles' "No Blues" from the Trumpeter's transitional period between his two great quintets. This is followed by Tadd Dameron's "If You Could See Me Now," complete with its extended Wynton Kelly Introduction. Montgomery's ballad playing is in the same category as his blues— outstanding. Hank Jones's "Unit Seven" contains perhaps the most cogent jazz thinking since Sonny Rollins's "Blue Seven". this disc is closed out with Montgomery's own "Four on Six" and he again turns his attention to the ballad with "What's New."

Two things make Wes Montgomery's guitar playing unique. The use of that "fat thumb" made Montgomery's tone round and broad, with a slightly damped presentation. The second thing was his use of octaves, a characteristic that makes his music immediately recognizable and provided George Benson a good living. With these tools, Wes Montgomery added a unique voice to the jazz chorus while straddling different genres and periods. Smokin' at the Half Note is his most profound live testament.