Latest Release
- A Day in the Life (Reissue) · 1967
- Boss Guitar (Original Jazz Classics Remasters) · 1963
- Incredible Jazz Guitar (Remastered) · 1960
- Keepnews Collection: Bags Meets Wes · 1960
- Incredible Jazz Guitar (Remastered) · 1960
- A Day in the Life (Reissue) · 1967
- So Much Guitar! (Remastered) · 1961
- Incredible Jazz Guitar (Remastered) · 1960
- Smokin' At The Half Note (Expanded Edition) · 1965
- Down Here on the Ground · 1968
Essential Albums
- The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery is everything the title boldly suggests. In addition to Montgomery’s rich, round single notes and octaves—all articulated with just his thumb—we also hear piano legend Tommy Flanagan in a notable sideman appearance (another being John Coltrane’s Giant Steps). And laying the foundation with a big, capacious rhythm section beat are brothers Percy and Albert “Tootie” Heath on bass and drums, respectively. Montgomery takes off right away with Sonny Rollins’ uptempo classic “Airegin” (“Nigeria” backwards), bringing a level of clarity and invention to his bebop lines more commonly heard from the great horn virtuosos of the day. It’s there on the more restrained tempos as well, such as Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way” and the late-’30s standard “Gone With the Wind.” Yet amid all the harmonic complexity, Montgomery could also access bone-deep blues feeling like no one else, as on the slow “D-Natural Blues.” His elegant compositions “Four on Six” and “West Coast Blues” came to be regarded as modern standards, and “Mr. Walker” predicted the kind of funky crossover vibe he’d pursue on his later records for Verve and A&M.
Music Videos
- 2007
Artist Playlists
- This innovative jazz guitarist was a true master of melody.
- Elegant hidden treasures and powerful live takes.
Singles & EPs
Live Albums
About Wes Montgomery
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1923, Wes Montgomery ranks as one of jazz’s most distinctive and individualist guitarists, with an instantly recognizable use of octaves and a plucking attack using the side of his thumb. Between 1948 and 1950, he worked in the big band led by vibist Lionel Hampton, later establishing himself in a group with his brothers Buddy and Monk. The family band relocated to California and made its first recordings for Pacific Jazz, but the guitarist returned to Indianapolis, where he formed a trio with organist Melvin Rhyne that soon signed with Riverside and released a string of albums elevating him as a major figure in jazz. Upon signing with Verve in the mid-'60s, Montgomery cut a series of string-sweetened crossover albums that set a repertoire of jazz standards alongside soul tunes and Beatles covers, presaging the emergence of smooth jazz decades later. He suffered a fatal heart attack in 1968.
- HOMETOWN
- Indianapolis, IN, United States
- BORN
- March 6, 1923
- GENRE
- Jazz