Montgomery's pioneering approach to jazz guitar incorporated a thumb-plucking style that produced a mellow sense of cool. Inheritors of his mantle were able to put that same technique to use, like George Benson on the soul-jazz track “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” John Abercrombie's take on “My Funny Valentine” merges Montgomery's easy-going tone with a briskness that recalls the guitarist's best sessions.