Montgomery, Wes (John Leslie)

Montgomery, Wes (John Leslie), popular jazz guitarist, brother of Monk and Buddy Montgomery; b. Indianapolis, Ind., March 6, 1923 (some give 1925); d. there, June 15, 1968. He was one of the most celebrated of all jazz guitarists, for the perfection of his melodies and phrasing, his lovely soft sound (achieved partly through the use of his right thumb rather than a pick when he found the latter cumbersome), and his fluency in block chord solos. His parents were singers and regular church goers. The oldest brother, Thomas Jr., was a drummer who got Wes and his brother started in music, though he never read music; Wes in turn inspired his other brother Buddy. He began his career performing in local clubs, then toured and recorded with Lionel Hampton’s band (1948–50). He didn’t solo on the studio recordings but is featured briefly in the Jubilee Armed Forces radio broadcast 327 recorded around February 1949 on the titles “Jay Bird” and “Oklahoma City Boogie and Bop.” After Hampton, he returned to Indianapolis. He formed a group with his brothers Buddy and Monk, originally known as the Mastersounds (1957–60), then as the Montgomery Brothers (1960–62). He also formed his own trio (1959), which recorded the successful Wes Montgomery Trio album that same year after Cannonball Adderley alerted his producer Orrin Keepnews to the guitarist’s talents. Montgomery was a favorite of Coltrane and they performed at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco in September 1961. Then, on Sept. 22, they drove up to Monterey to perform that night at the festival; they never did work out as a regular group—some say because of musical differences, some say because Wes, like his brother Buddy, didn’t like to fly. Wes toured widely from 1963. He won a Grammy Award for his recording of “Goin’ Out of My Head” (1965); his album A Day in the Life (1967) was the best-selling jazz LP of the year. He appeared on the cover of Down Beat only a week before his premature death of a heart attack at 43.

Discography

Fingerpickin’ (1957); Montgomery Brothers (1958); Kismet (1958); Far Wes (1958); Yesterdays (1959); A Dynamic New Sound (1959); Guitar on the Go (1959); Pretty Blue (1959); The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (1960); Movin’ Along (1960); The Alternative Wes Montgomery (1960); Encores (1960); So Much Guitar (1961); Recorded Live at Jorgie’s Jazz Club (1961); Wes and Friends (1961); Full House (1962); Fusion! Wes Montgomery with Strings (1963); Boss Guitar (1963); Portrait of Wes (1963); Movin’ Wes (1964); Live in Paris (1965); Impressions (1965); Solitude (1965); Bumpin’ (1965); Smokin at the Half Note (1965); Willow Weep for Me (1965); Goin’ Out of My Head (1965); Tequila (1966); California Dreaming (1966); A Day in the Life (1967); Down Here on the Ground (1967); Road Song (1968); Eulogy (1970).

Bibliography

L. Garson and J. Stewart, Wes Montgomery Jazz Guitar Method (N.Y., 1968); S. Khan, Wes Montgomery Guitar Folio (N.Y., 1978); A. Ingram, Wes Montgomery (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1985); F. Sokolow, Wes Montgomery: Artist Transcriptions for Guitar (Milwaukee, Wise, 1988); J. Bastian, The Boss Guitar of Wes Montgomery: A Collection of Early Period Transcriptions (Houston, 1995); Zafar Saalik Saood, Mel Bay Presents Wes Montgomery: Jazz Guitar Artistry (Pacific, Mo., 1995).

—Lewis Porter