The Genius of Wes Montgomery

Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist who is widely considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time. He is known for his distinctive playing style, which featured a strong, fluid technique and a unique use of octaves. Montgomery's career spanned the 1950s through the 1980s, and he released numerous albums as a leader, many of which are considered jazz classics. He was a pioneer in the use of guitar amplification and was highly influential on later guitarists, both within and outside the jazz genre.

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[angelolivares]

I hate when people say "Wes is one of the greatest JAZZ GUITAR players of all time" he's one of the greatest GUITAR players of all time including acoustic and electric players and all types of genera

[zootmojo]

I once traded fours with Wes, just not in the usual sense. He was appearing on a show called "Jazz" on WGBH-TV in Boston, and I was the stage manager. My job was to give various cues to the "talent." Toward the end of the broadcast (it was live), Wes was taking his last number out, but there was still air time. I held up a cue card that said, say, "Two Minutes." So Wes picked it back up for maybe another chorus, and then again started to take it out. But there was still more time, so I held up the "One Minute" cue card. And so it went until finally we reached "fade to black." My greatest regret in life is that I never learned to play an instrument, but at least I got to trade fours with Wes Montgomery.

[MariUSukulele]

DANKE for introducing this musician extraordinaire!

[chrishibner]

he is singing with his guitar..he takes you on a roller coaster ride without singing a word .

[paulcowham]

Wes is like a gateway drug into jazz guitar, or jazz generally. His playing is so beautiful and accessible to non jazz heads.

[chuckm]

Thank you Rick. My mother Barbara was a huge Wes Montgomery fan and she introduced me to him through her albums. She passed away in 2019 and every time I play her Wes albums, it reconnects me to my amazingly cool, hip and loving mom. Barbara would have loved this episode, thank you so much.

[domenicgalata]

Wes Montgomery and Grant Green were masters and had so much soul and feel in their playing.

[RhettShull]

Wes is one of those players for me, I remember where I was when I heard him for the first time.

[michaelgregory]

While many jazz cats had chops, Wes' playing overflowed with soul, feel, swing and a joy of life that poured forth from him like water. So natural and seemingly effortless.

[tspicks]

Melody, rhythm, drive, TONE ... it's all there. Nobody did it better than Wes.

[gitarrenpost]

No guitar player compares to Wes. He is simply THE one. My hero, too.

[mattjohnson]

The version of Cariba Rick listens to in the video is one of the finest examples of jazz guitar period.

[stratfanstl]

I can comprehend how someone can play some of those solo melodies on a single-note basis. I CANNOT wrap my head around how accurate one's finger placement has to be to play those kind of melodies as octaves, much less comping chords in the middle of them. Astounding musicianship -- both technically and melodically.

[EnigmaEuslam]

Tone, Taste, Technique, Soul, Sophistication…he had absolutely everything….that’s timeless. He’d be just as influential if he arrived on the scene TODAY! Nothing need be added or subtracted. His playing is perfect.

[xodiaq]

What I loved about Wes is that his tone cuts through everything without ever having to “raise his voice”. Nothing ever feels shouty about his playing, its dynamic without ever feeling aggressive.

[CharlesAlexander-gr]

In 1965 at age 19, together, with fellow guitar player friend Lachlan, we travelled the 400 miles from Edinburgh to London by coach to hear Wes Montgomery at Ronnie Scott's jazz Club with the Stan Tracey Trio.. He was amazing, playing with a happy smile on his face. On "Here's That Rainy Day (in E major!). he finished he song with a coda which repeated three times, finishing each time with a harmonic. However on the third ime, he slightly fluffed the final harmonic. he laid the guitar down across and laughed at human folly. The audience laughed along with him.After a short pause, Wes then successfully played the 3-time coda to great applause. A joyful experience that I will never forget.

[Leehawkeyboy]

His version of Round Midnight is incredible.

[jdbailey]

The entire Montgomery family was immensely talented. Monk Montgomery was an excellent bassist and played with his thumb . My Dad listened to Wes often when I was a child.

[สมชายไสนารา]

What strikes me most is that Wes' playing rhythmically is absolutely perfect - it seems he feels, hears plays like a top notch drummer. Absolutely stunning.

[finoroverato]

Wes also had an incredible sense of rhythm. He was so in the pocket and that phrasing!!!It just doesn’t get better than Wes