Wes Montgomery

I am very pleased to be featuring our first guitarist for A World of Jazz, John Leslie Montgomery, born March 6th, 1923.  Wes is one of the greatest Jazz guitarists, and he had enormous influence on all those who came after him.   His emergence came after the “founders” of Jazz guitar  -  Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt.

We pause here for a word about these two seminal figures.  They really lay the groundwork for all who followed.  Christian is the first person to have established a mature vocabulary for the electrically amplified guitar and to have demonstrated it to be a soloist's instrument. Before him the guitar was only part of the rhythm section, its sound overpowered by louder instruments before amplification.  Reinhardt, a gypsy from Belgium, also helped to spearhead the expressiveness of the instrument in a Jazz mode.  In passing also we should mention Oscar Moore, guitarist in Nat “King” Cole's trio, whose cool approach made that group very popular in its heyday.

Wes was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to a musical family.  His older brother Monk played the bass, while his younger brother Buddy played the vibraphone, also called vibes.  Wes didn't start playing until he was nineteen, and he didn't read music.  However, he had an excellent ear and could reproduce Charlie Christian solos note for note.  He was also self-taught, and he acquired a virtuosic technique much admired by fellow guitarists.  He played with his thumb and not a plectrum, which created a mellow, warm and immediately recognizable sound.

I like to think of Wes as the sweetheart of Jazz musicians because the story goes that he used to practise late into the night and began playing with his thumb so that the softer sound would not wake his wife!  Guitarist George Benson also tells us that Wes had a corn on this thumb, so he could get different sounds from different parts of his thumb.  To boot, Wes was double jointed and could bend his thumb all the way back to touch his wrist, which he would do to surprise people.

Early in his career Wes toured with bandleader Lionel Hampton, but being away from his family brought him back to Indianapolis.  To support his family of eight, he worked in a factory from 7 am to 3 pm then performed in local clubs from 9 pm to 2 am.  One night in 1959 alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley heard Wes playing and could not believe his ears!  The next day he called record producer Orrin Keepnews, who signed up Wes for a contract with Riverside Records, which heralded his most productive period.

Wes played and made recordings in Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as joining in with Monk and Buddy to form the Montgomery Brothers.  His work from 1959 to 1963 is widely considered his best, as during this time he produced his most influential music.  In 1964 Wes moved to Verve Records as his recording company.  His recordings with Verve often featured his guitar with orchestral backing, and in this period he continued his outstanding live performances.

Wes' third and final period in 1967 and 1968 saw him recording for A&M Records.  At this time he focussed on the lucrative pop market, so that his playing had less Jazz improvisation and more recitation of melody.  Some felt that he had sold out to the pop music world, but it is during this time that he finally enjoyed great commercial success.  He actually made a heap of money recording with A&M.  The great pity is that he hardly lived long enough to enjoy his wealth.  In 1968 he woke up one morning and told his wife he wasn't feeling too well.  Just a few minutes later, he keeled over and died from a heart attack.  He was only forty-five.

Wes was one of those great natural talents.  He could play the same note on two strings one octave apart (the use of “octaves,”) and he had an appealing technique, also employing single notes and block chords.  The sound he produced was absolutely unique and beautiful, one of the exhilarating experiences of Jazz.  For guitar players, his choice of instrument was the Gibson L – 5 CES.   And the popularity of his music and as well the tremendous influence he exerted has ensured his iconic status.

I jump right into discussing Wes' music with relish.  We start with “Far Wes,” an album recorded in Los Angeles in April 1958 and October 1959.  This is an auspicious start to the discography, featuring Harold Land on tenor sax, Pony Poindexter on alto sax, Buddy Montgomery on piano, Monk Mongomery on electric bass and Tony Bazley and Louis Hayes on drums.  Coincidentally my favorites are all Wes compositions: “Far Wes,” the title track, “Leila,” “Montgomeryland Funk” and “Monk's Shop” all shine.  There is good ensemble playing here, but you can also hear Wes stepping forward and soloing in his developing style that was to bring so much to the world of Jazz.

That style was certainly full-fledged by 1960, because this is when Wes cut his best and most celebrated record.  Done in New York City in January of 1960, “The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery” is considered Wes' definitive statement, his coming out party as it were.  Wes played best in a small group setting, and he had peerless backup from pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath.  Wes takes flight with the authority of an artist at his peak, and again the picks are his own compositions “D-Natural Blues,” “Four On Six” and “West Coast Blues.”  Wes swings like nobody's business, his solos fluid and melodic, thus giving fans the full treat here.  It is no wonder that the liner notes tell us “Ever since its initial release in 1960, this album has been the consensus choice of musicians, critics and knowledgeable listeners as a matchless example of the talents of one of the finest Jazz instrumentalists of all time.”  It is inadvisable for me to gild “Incredible...” any more.  Suffice it to say – indispensible.

Our next feature is an album that I have on vinyl entitled “George Shearing and The Montgomery Brothers.”  I must have picked this one up while I haunted the record stores in Milwaukee or Kingston.  It is in mint condition, complete with the Japanese label still on it.  It's a delight of a record.  British pianist George Shearing teamed up with the Montgomery’s on October 9th and 10th, 1961.  The fellows threw conga and bongoes players Armando Peraza and Ricardo Chimelis into the mix, with nice results.  I like “Love Walked In,” “Stranger In Paradise,” “The Lamp Is Low” and “Mambo In Chimes,” some of which have the Latin Jazz feel that artists have always found inviting as well as rewarding.  Wes is more of a group player here, but I've always loved the sound of this particular recording, and I recommend it highly.

On the Riverside label like “Incredible...” is the record “Boss Guitar.”  This time Wes chose only organ and drums to accompany him.  Mel Rhyne and Jimmy Cobb are worthy band-mates. The group does great versions of the standards “Besame Mucho” and “Canadian Sunset,” but Wes' compositions “The Trick Bag” and “Fried Pies” are once more the ones that stand out.  Producer  Orrin Keepnews tells us that Wes was his own severest critic.  Everyone would consider a particular “take” of a song to be fine, but Wes would often insist on doing it over because he wasn't fully satisfied with his rendition.  So we have two versions of “Besame Mucho” and “Fried Pies” on this record.  It is interesting to compare, but I can never tell which is better.  What I do know is that I truly enjoy the bluesy feel of the trio on “Boss Guitar,” the organ providing a special vibe that piano groups don't quite capture all the time.

I also like the 1962 and 1963 compilation record called “Blue 'N' Boogie.”  Originally released on the huge boxed set “The Complete Riverside Recordings” these alternate takes continue to reveal the incredible Wes and his style.  The title track as well as “Born To Be Blue” and “Cariba” are all over seven minutes in length.  This allows Wes to stretch out on his improvisations and to infuse his impeccable blues sensibility into these selections.  They are all well worth the listen.

From Wes' Verve years “Jazz Masters 14” is an essential compilation also.  My first pick is the John Coltrane composition “Impressions,” recorded by Wes, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums at the Half Note in New York.  The live performances by this group in 1965 went so well that audiences nearly brought the house down on several occasions.  When you listen to “Impressions,” which features Wes at his stupendous improvisational best, you begin to get an understanding of why there was such ecstasy from the fans.

Next comes the very well known “Tequila.”  Wes recorded this favorite in New Jersey in 1966 with Ron Carter on bass, Grady Tate on drums and Ray Barreto on congas.  At only 3 minutes, 20 seconds “Tequila” is disappointingly short, but it has remained popular.  Ray's unforgettable conga playing and Wes' perfectly timed strumming helps make this piece the infectious, foot-tapping standard of Jazz and popular music that it is.    When the album of the same name came out, it introduced listeners who had never heard of Wes Montgomery to his signature sound and helped build the buzz and expectation that his A&M producers capitalized on a year later.

I also enjoy “Bumpin', which features full orchestral backup for Wes and broadened the music's appeal.  Other Wes compositions “Bumpin' On Sunset” and “Twisted Blues” show his versatility, as do his versions of the standards “Caravan” and “Con Alma.”  Everything by him during this period is extraordinarily good.

Lastly I feature two recordings from Wes' late period, one on CD, the other on LP.  As mentioned, A&M Records, in producing several recordings by Wes with strings and orchestral arrangements, allowed both themselves and Wes to make good money.  Some critics consider these  albums to be little more than “beefed up elevator music.”  Others have opined that “commercial priorities overcame his improvising talents.”  However, while I agree that Wes' best work came earlier with the Riverside recordings,  I believe that his later work is accessible and cool, and knowing his history I could never begrudge him the phenomenal commercial success that was to be so short lived.  His worthy successor George Benson has famously made it known that if anyone wants him to put out a “pure” Jazz album, they can put a million dollars in his bank account.

For good measure I add that I'm not a purist, but one can certainly sink one's teeth more into the main-stream work of Wes as opposed to the later commercial stuff.  Never mind -  the albums “A Day In The Life” and “Down Here On The Ground,” produced by Creed Taylor and featuring Herbie Hancock and other Jazz greats are pretty good fare.  Such popular songs as “When A Man Loves A Woman,”  “Willow Weep For Me,” “Windy” and “I Say A Little Prayer For You” all get the inimitable Wes Montgomery treatment.  I think that “Down Here On The Ground” must have been one of Wes' last albums.  It was done in January 1968, and he left us in June of the same year.

In concluding, I can attest that listening to Wes Montgomery is one of the loveliest experiences you can have while delving into the world of Jazz.  There's a plethora of Jazz guitarists today, and most of them owe a debt to this most wonderful of musicians and human beings.  You can hear a little of Wes in the stylings of Joe Pass, Pat Martino, Grant Green, Pat Metheny and George Benson, among many others.

I will let Jazz writer Ralph Gleason have the last word about Wes, but before I do, I want to ask  you to rush and get your hands and your ears on some of his remarkable music.  Wes “has the electric quality, that special gift of making whatever he does come alive, that marks the true artist.  He has terrific swing, the ability to build solos dramatically and beautifully to climax after climax, and everything he plays has a sense of rightness about it.”