|  Wes Montgomery
Ask any jazz guitar player to name some of the most influential guitarists of the past
50 years, and Wes is sure to be mentioned. The first time I heard Wes was in a
record store (not a CD!). The owner obliged my request to play the first track of the
album, Wes Montgomery Trio. The tune was Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight.
The opening notes of Wes' arpeggio were enough for me! I bought the album and
began a lifelong passion and collection of the master's music that continues to this day.
If you look at the picture above showing Wes playing his beautiful
Gibson L5 guitar, you will notice that his right hand holds no pick. Wes had a
unique way of playing the guitar by using the thumb of his right hand. The result
was a warm and instantly identifiable sound that was Wes.
Wes was a humble man from Indianapolis who worked a variety of jobs to support
his wife and seven children. He was discovered by the great jazz alto saxophonist,
Cannonball Adderly, who heard him playing in an after hours jazz club. Within a
few years, the entire jazz world heard the unique and innovative sounds of Wes.
When Wes was allowed to stretch out and develop his solos, his imagination took
flight. He would often begin with a few choruses of single note soloing. This would
be followed with several choruses utilizing his patented octave technique where he
would play two notes separated by an octave interval. Wes continued to build his
ideas, usually climaxing in an amazing chord melody solo. After listening to nearly
every recording Wes ever made, I am still amazed at the freshness and creativity of
his solos.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the boxed set of the Complete Riverside Recordings.
In this magnificent collection, there are numerous out-take tracts from several recordings.
With some boxed sets, it becomes painfully obvious why these tracks were not used for the
final recording. With Wes, any one of these tracks could easily have stood alone as the final
recording. Listening to these tracks is an adventure and an illuminating lesson in how a
master jazz improviser can take a theme and develop and elevate it to an new composition.
Wes was not only a great jazz guitarist, he was a great jazz musician.
For me, however, the requiebros will always remain the first notes of 'Round
Midnight, the first recording where I heard Wes. With each note struck by that
thumb, the sounds dug into my soul and pulled my heart along to a love affair to
which I have remained faithful.
Additional Links
Duke University Biography
|
