Wes Montgomery:
A Birthday Shout-Out to a Giant of Jazz Guitar
Born March 6, 1923, in Indianapolis, Indiana, John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery's 99th birthday was last Sunday. A longtime favorite of all of us here at ejazzlines, Wes was a unique jazz guitar innovator. His influence is wide and deep, he expanded the pantheon of the possible for his instrument, and he enjoyed significant commercial success late in his far too-short career.
Part of the amazing Indianapolis jazz scene which includes Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, Larry Ridley, David Baker, Slide Hampton, and his brothers Buddy and Monk, Wes was self-taught and played the guitar with his thumb, so he was a unique figure with a singular sound from the start.
The site maintained by his estate describes him so well, we will let their voice be heard: "...Wes changed the language of jazz guitar, harmonically, melodically, and technically. The way he approached the harmonic structures of tunes, reharmonizing them by implication in the course of his improvisations, set the standard for virtually every guitarist who followed him. Typically in his solos, he outlined chords melodically, but the chords he outlined were often different chords than the rhythm section was playing—a kind of subtle chord substitution—which, in effect, extended the overall harmony in an idiosyncratic way that was unique, distinctive, and immediately identifiable. Wes's compelling harmonic approach, his remarkably fluid single note facility along with his trademark octaves, and use of sophisticated chord melodies, influenced generations of players who followed in his wake."(1)
1-https://www.wesmontgomery.com/about/
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