Wes Montgomery
The Jazz Guitarist that Left Too Soon
Charlie Christian inspired many a budding jazz guitarist but the parallels between Wes Montgomery and Charlie Christian are outstanding, so are the
differences. Wes heard a Charlie Christian recording and set about learning how to do it for himself. Like C.C. he learned fast and at a relatively early
age. The 18 year old Montgomery was already a married man living in a rented home when he started devoting his leisure hours to practicing and as always
he used an amplifier when practicing. This inadvertently led to his unique technique and the sound it produced. Noise complaints from neighbors caused Wes
to abandon his pick and use his bare thumb. The subtle attack soothed the neighbors and gave a unique sound allowing a stunning right hand tremolo effect
reminiscent of Django and smoothing the sound of his octaves. One amazing fact about Wes was that he spent many years holding down a full-time job as a
welder while he played the clubs of Indianapolis at night. He lived this way for years, deprived of sleep but doing what it took to support his family
while developing as a musician
Though he never learned to read music Wes could accurately learn to play almost any song after hearing it once. Wes began to play publicly, most frequently in a combo with his brothers. Working as a welder during the day, playing nights and sleeping only occasionally Montgomery paid heavy dues, finally achieving national recognition in 1959. While he possessed well rounded abilities and could play credibly as a chord soloist or in a single note style reminiscent of Charlie Christian, he was famed for his octaves. Fast and clean Wes could solo in octaves as freely as most players could with single note lines. Octaves were also a great way to express melody lines. They are punchier than chords while much stronger than single notes, octaves made tunes easy to recognize for even casual listeners. It was a way for Jazz guitar to develop mass market appeal. Montgomery's later recordings were produced with this in mind, heavy on octaves and frequently including contemporary pop tunes. These records sold well but were sometimes criticized by the jazz community for being too pop oriented. Nonetheless, many people probably got their first taste of jazz guitar from hearing Wes Montgomery over the radio. Familiar Beatles and Bacharach tunes played in octaves caught the ear of the public and they got to hear some brilliant jazz soloing in the bargain. His recording of Tequila is a classic based on a 1958 pop-rock hit. The chord work in the bridge of the solo is dazzling and confirms that Wes was as good and serious of a player as ever lived.
The final similarity between Wes and Charlie is the most tragic. Wes also died young suffering a fatal heart attack in 1968 at age 43. One cannot help but wonder to what extent the pressures of working full time plus playing gigs by night contributed to his early demise. When he passed away the world was left a little bit emptier. He was a great man as well as a great musician.
In the years since his death many players have tried to copy his free flowing octaves but I’ve never heard anyone do them the way Wes could. To solo in octaves and do a good job of it requires the reflexes of a cat and the grace of a ballet dancer all while under the pressure imposed by the demands of improvising a jazz solo. Wes could play octaves like they were completely natural to the guitar. He could play coherent arpeggios in octaves without ever sounding choppy or rushed. Besides octaves he played beautiful chord melodies as well as single-note runs that were very impressive for their speed, clarity and their melodic sense.
