As a kid, I wasnt exposed to jazz much. I grew up listening to hard rock, punk, metal, etc. The first time I heard Wes Montgomery, I was immediately taken with jazz guitar. His tone, feel, swing, phrasing, and always interesting lines make him, for me, the archetypal jazz guitarist. He was the first to really make guitar a valid and unique voice for jazz. Many guitarists take the approach of trying to sound like another instrument in order to play jazz - a sax, or piano. While he surely got his inspiration from other instruments, Wes' playing is definitively guitar-centric; he played things that belonged on guitar. To this day, players who want to get a jazz sound on their guitar cop HIS sound.
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist from Indianapolis, Indiana. He came from a musical family; his brothers, Monk (bass) and Buddy (vibraphone and piano), were jazz performers, and they released a number of albums together as the Montgomery Brothers. Although not skilled at reading music, he could learn complex melodies and riffs by ear. Montgomery started guitar at the late age of 19, and learned by listening to the recordings of his idol, guitarist Charlie Christian. Known for his ability to play Christian's solos note for note, he was hired by Lionel Hampton for his band. Montgomery toured with Hampton but the stress of touring brought him back home. To support his family of eight, Montgomery worked in a factory from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, then performed in clubs from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. Cannonball Adderley heard Wes in an Indianapolis club and was floored. The next morning, he called producer Orrin Keepnews, who signed Wes to a recording contract with Riverside Records. Montgomery recorded with his brothers and various other players, including the Wynton Kelly Trio (which previously backed up Miles Davis).
John Coltrane asked Wes to join his band after a jam session, but Montgomery continued to lead his own band. He also made contributions to recordings by B3 organ great Jimmy Smith. Later in his career, he would occasionally turn out original material alongside jazzy orchestral arrangements of pop songs. This late period earned him considerable wealth and created a platform for a new audience to hear his earlier recordings. He didn't have very long to live to enjoy his commercial success, however; on June 15, 1968, while at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, he died of a heart attack.
Wes often approached solos in a three-tiered manner: he would begin with single note lines, play octaves for a few more sequences, then finish with block chords. He had little knowledge of scales or modes, mostly using superimposed triads and arpeggios as the main source for his soloing ideas and sounds. His innovative use of octaves (playing the same note on two strings one octave apart) became his signature sound. Montgomery was also an excellent "single-note" player, and was very influential in the use of block chords.
Wes eschewed the pick and plucked the strings instead with the fleshy part of his thumb. He developed this technique not for technical reasons but for his wife. He worked long hours as a machinist before his career began and practiced late at night while his wife was sleeping. He played with his thumb so that his playing would be softer and not wake her. Ironically, this technique enabled him to get a mellow, expressive tone that would come to define the sound of jazz guitar.
Many fellow guitarists consider Wes the most influential of all the modern jazz guitarists. Pat Metheny has praised him, saying "I learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery's Smokin' at the Half Note." Joe Pass said, "To me, there have been only three real innovators on the guitar—Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt". In addition, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, and Pat Martino have pointed to him as an influence. While many jazz players are regarded as virtuosos, Montgomery had a very wide influence on other virtuosos who followed him, and enjoyed respect from his contemporaries.
Check out Wes' flow on his great tune Four on Six:
Most versions of this song have longer solos, all filled with beautiful, totally swinging single note & octave lines and chord work. I picked this video because its got a great view of his hands and shows his amazing thumb. I hate that the solo ends so quickly; I could listen to his soloing for hours. I love this tune and often play it in my set.
Wes Montgomery was and remains the major jazz influence on my playing and on thousands of other players' as well.
Information in this post was taken from various sources including Wikipedia.
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