PHANTOM SWAY

    • Jazz for Nonbelievers: The ‘Boss Guitar’ of Wes Montgomery

    I hope everyone enjoyed last week’s post and playlist featuring Herbie Hancock. This week we move from the keyboard to the unique guitar mastery of Wes Montgomery. Jazz is best experienced live but since Wes Montgomery passed away in 1968 at the young age of 45, video is the best we can do. Here’s Wes performing live in Belgium back in 1965.

    https://youtu.be/SazKhulEBH8

    Nancy Wilson and NPR’s Jazz Profiles put out an excellent piece on Montgomery back in 2007.

    The jazz guitar of Wes Montgomery, deemed “the biggest, warmest, fattest sound on record,” still reverberates today, nearly forty years after his death. The most influential, widely admired jazz guitarist since Charlie Christian‘s heyday, Wes re-invented the instrument with his thumb-plucking technique, his innovative approach to playing octaves, and his inventive, masterful execution of complex lines. In the short span of a 9 year recording career as a leader, his name became synonymous with the jazz guitar.

    Despite the sophistication of his technique, Wes had no formal musical education. Born on March 6th, 1923 in Indianapolis, Wes grew up making music with his brothers, several of whom also became professional musicians. Electric bass guitarist Monk Montgomery recalls buying his brother his first guitar, a four-string tenor, on which 12-year-old Wes demonstrated immediate proficiency. Wes learned by jamming with his brothers and by emulating Charlie Christian, who inspired Wes to pursue jazz guitar professionally.

    They say that despite being an influential and innovative player, Montgomery never learned to read music. He couldn’t explain how he did what he did. He just did it.

    Wes’ first big musical gig was touring with Lionel Hampton’s band. Later recorded some amazing tracks with organist Jimmy Smith.

    A self taught musician, Wes played jazz standards as well as covering rock and pop hits from The Beatles, The Mamas and the Papas, and The Association among others. He played the familiar tunes in that signature warm, fat sound he made famous.

    Fun fact: Wes Montgomery is the grandfather of actor Anthony Montgomery, who played Ensign Travis Mayweather on Star Trek: Enterprise.

    As always, this week’s playlist is handpicked for you to share with the self described jazz haters.

    Jim Jamitis
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