Wes Montgomery (1925 - 1968)

If you’ve heard jazz guitar, chances are you’ve either heard Wes Montgomery or Montgomery-inspired playing. Ever wondered where that octaves playing comes from? Or where does that soft sound in jazz guitar comes from? Well, the answer is Wes Montgomery. Born in Indianapolis in 1925, he was a self-taught guitar player. He learned jazz guitar by ear (he never learned to read music), by replicating guitar solos from different musicians, including his most important influence, Charlie Christian.

In my opinion, this shift was a legitimate choice. Montgomery was a music genius regardless of which style he played. Going to a more commercial setting meant to cut back a little on the technical and improvisational side, that’s true. However his lyrical side remained intact. I challenge any of his critics to sound like Montgomery during those years. Well, no one can sound like Wes Montgomery but Wes Montgomery. Simple.

Anyways, as a guitar player I can see how Wes Montgomery’s full guitar potential is captured in his material previous to 1965, particularly the Riverside years.

Unfortunately we guitar players never got to hear him play at his fullest again, since he died of a heart attack in 1968. Wes Montgomery’s legacy remains intact to this day, more than 40 years after his death. He is one of the most influential great guitar players of all times…

Guitar Style

Everyone knows him for his use of octaves. The principle is this: in a given phrase, instead of playing one note, play two notes separated by a one-octave interval. While doing it, mute the strings in between with the left hand and perform the attack with a smooth stroke coming from the right hand thumb. Simple, isn’t it?

Well, it definitely sounds simpler than it is. The result is a mellow, smooth sound that makes thousands of guitar players around the world drool… (including myself). For better results, make sure you use a fat hollow body guitar with the pickup in the neck position, then set the tone control to a low level and bring the treble down in your amp. A nice reverb setting helps too.

Wes Montgomery used his right thumb not only for his octave phrases, but for most of his playing, which explains the smooth sound he gets. He developed a very advanced use of this attack. If you listen to some of his pre-1965 material, you’ll notice he was able to bring some very fluent passages using this technique, which is uncommon for someone not using a pick.

Charlie Christian is known to be his most important influence, the most famous early jazz guitar player in the United States. His playing style is very fluent, and in many ways resembles the type of soloing one would expect from a horn instrument.

One important thing to mention about Wes Montgomery’s style is the fact that he never learned to read music and his music education was limited. While some would consider this a disadvantage, in the hands of someone the stature of Montgomery it was actually good. The reason is, he played what sounded right instead of what is supposed to be “right". This is one of the reasons his music sounds so natural and unpretentious.

Even though Montgomery was known to learn Charlie Christian’s solos note by note, he developed his own style and phrasing very soon. Towards the peak of his career, one can only hear Charlie Christian as an early influence in Montgomery’s style.

See Wes Montgomery’s influences on the Guitar Family Tree

Gear

When it comes to equipment, his settings couldn’t be any simpler. A jazz guitar, an amp and no pick, just his magic right hand thumb.

About his guitars, the first thing that comes to mind is that beautiful sunburst Gibson Custom L-5 CES . At the beginning of his career, he played a Gibson L-5 and eventually custom ordered an L-5 with a rounded cutaway instead of the sharp cutaway this model had in the 1960’s. The L-5 CES has only one humbucker (’57 Classic) in the neck position. Given Montgomery’s warm sound, that’s the only pickup he would need. Also, don’t forget the tone knob. It has to be set all the way down (or close to it).

There are two known amps he used: a Fender Pro Reverb and a Standel Custom XV. Standel amplifiers are notorious for their low profile when it comes to brand names. However, were very popular in recording sessions, specially in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and have been used by many guitar legends such as Chet Atkins and Wes Montgomery.

About his legendary thumb, he was known to have a corn in it which he would use for a more crisp attack. For anything else, he would use the soft part of it, giving us that signature Montgomery sound. Also, he would use heavy gauge strings.

As you can see, he didn’t need anything sophisticated to get his rich, warm, fat jazz sound. Well, except being Wes Montgomery.