John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. He was known for using a special method of plucking guitar strings with the side of his thumb and for using octaves frequently, which created a unique sound. Montgomery often performed with his brothers, Buddy (Charles F.) and Monk (William H.), as well as organist Melvin Rhyne. His recordings before 1965 focused on types of jazz music, such as hard bop, soul jazz, and post bop. Around 1965, he began making more pop-style instrumental albums that became popular with many people. His later guitar style influenced the development of jazz fusion and smooth jazz.

Early life and education

Montgomery was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. According to NPR, the nickname "Wes" came from a child who said his middle name, Leslie, incorrectly. His family was large, and his parents separated when he was young. Montgomery and his brothers moved to Columbus, Ohio, to live with their father and attended Champion High School. His older brother, Monk, left school to sell coal and ice. Over time, Monk saved enough money to buy Wes a four-string tenor guitar from a pawn shop in 1935. Although Montgomery played the guitar for many hours, he believed it was not useful. He later started over when he received his first six-string guitar several years later.

Career

Wes Montgomery and his brothers returned to Indianapolis. By 1943, Montgomery was working as a welder and had married. While at a dance with his wife, he heard a Charlie Christian record for the first time. This experience inspired him to begin playing the guitar at the age of 19. He spent the next year learning to play by copying Christian's recordings. Although he had not planned to become a professional musician, he felt he needed to learn after buying the guitar. Montgomery did not receive any formal lessons and could not read music. By the age of twenty, he was performing in clubs in Indianapolis at night, copying Christian's solos, while working during the day at a milk company. In 1948, when Lionel Hampton was on tour in Indianapolis, he was looking for a guitarist. After hearing Montgomery play like Christian, he hired him.

Montgomery spent two years with the Hampton band. Fear kept him from flying with the rest of the band, so he drove from city to city, town to town, while fellow musicians admired his energy. When arriving at a club, the first thing he did was call home to his wife and family. He had the chance to play with Charles Mingus, Milt Buckner, and Fats Nav

Death

Montgomery died of a heart attack on June 15, 1968, at his home in Indianapolis. He was 45 years old.

Artistry

According to jazz guitar teacher Wolf Marshall, Montgomery often played solos in three steps. He started with single notes taken from scales or modes, then played octaves for a short time, and finally ended with block chords. Montgomery mainly used triads and arpeggios as the basis for his solos.

Instead of using a guitar pick, Montgomery plucked the strings with the fleshy part of his thumb. He used down strokes for single notes and a mix of up and down strokes for chords and octaves. He developed this method not because of technical reasons but to avoid waking his children and disturbing his neighbors. Before becoming a musician, Montgomery worked many hours as a machinist and practiced late at night. To keep everyone happy, he played quietly using his thumb. This worked well because he used an amplifier when performing, which allowed him to fully use his thumb-picking style. His style helped integrate the guitar into jazz and was studied by many musicians.

Montgomery was also known for playing octaves. In an interview with music critic Ralph J. Gleason, Montgomery said: "Playing octaves was just a coincidence. It's still a challenge. I used to get headaches every time I played octaves because it was extra work, but the moment I stopped, I felt better. I don’t know why, but it was my way, and my way backfired on me. Now I don’t get headaches when I play octaves. I’m just showing you how a strain can affect a person and almost stop them, but after a while, it gets easier because you get used to it."

Awards and honors

• Second Place, Readers' Choice Awards, Metronome, 1960
• Most Promising Jazz Instrumentalist, Billboard, 1960
• Talent Worth More Recognition, DownBeat, 1960
• Readers' Choice Awards and Critics' Choice Awards, DownBeat, 1961
• Readers' Choice Awards and Critics' Choice Awards, DownBeat, 1962
• Best Jazz Guitarist, DownBeat Critics' Choice Awards, 1960–63, 1966, 1967
• Two Grammy Award nominations for the album Bumpin', 1965
• Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Large Group or Soloist with a Large Group, Goin' Out of My Head, 1966
• Jazz Man of the Year, Record World, 1967
• Grammy Award nomination for the songs "Eleanor Rigby" and "Down Here on the Ground," 1968
• Grammy Award nomination for the album Willow Weep for Me, 1969

Legacy

In 1959, jazz guitarist Bobby Broom noted that Montgomery showed a new way to play the guitar. Montgomery used a technique called the octave method, and his ability to play chords and melodies together, as well as to improvise with chords, remains unmatched today. Broom created his guitar-organ trio based on Montgomery's style.

Tributes

Stevie Wonder created two songs honoring Montgomery: "Bye Bye World," which was on his 1968 album Eivets Rednow, and "We All Remember Wes," which George Benson recorded for his 1978 live album Weekend in L.A.

In 1982, Bob James and Earl Klugh worked together on an album and recorded the song "Wes" as a tribute to Montgomery on the album Two of a Kind.

Guitarist Emily Remler released an album titled East to Wes in 1988 to honor Montgomery.

Pat Martino released an album called Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery in 2006.

Eric Johnson included a song titled "East Wes" on his 1990 album Ah Via Musicom as a tribute to Montgomery.

Guitarist David Becker honored Montgomery with the song "Westward Ho" on the 1991 album In Motion.

Lee Ritenour recorded an album titled Wes Bound in 1993. This album included songs by Montgomery and original songs by Ritenour. The production and arrangements matched the style of music from that time, and Ritenour played the entire album on a Gibson L-5 model.

Guitarist Joe Diorio released an album in 1998 titled I Remember You: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery.

Discography

Recorded with Buddy Montgomery and Monk Montgomery

• The Alternative Wes Montgomery (Milestone, 1982)
• Far Wes (Capitol, 1990) – collection
• Fingerpickin' (Capitol, 1996) – collection
• Echoes of Indiana Avenue (Resonance, 2012)
• Live at the Turf Club 1956 with the Montgomery–Johnson Quintet (Resonance, 2014) [RSD 10" LP, limited edition]
• In the Beginning (Resonance, 2015)
• One Night in Indy (Resonance, 2016)
• Smokin' in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse (Resonance, 2017)
• In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording (Resonance, 2018)
• Back on Indiana Avenue (The Carroll DeCamp Recordings) (Resonance, 2019)
• Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Resonance, 2023)

• Jon Hendricks, A Good Git-Together (Pacific Jazz, 1959)
• Cannonball Adderley, Cannonball Adderley and the Poll-Winners (Riverside, 1960)
• Nat Adderley, Work Song (Riverside, 1960)
• Harold Land, West Coast Blues! (Jazzland, 1960)