1. John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist.
21 Facts About Wes Montgomery
1. 2.
Wes Montgomery was given the opportunity to play with Charles Mingus, Milt Buckner, and Fats Navarro, but not the opportunity he hoped for, and he returned to Indianapolis a better player, though tired and discouraged.
3.
Wes Montgomery resumed performing at local clubs, this time with the Eddie Higgins Trio and the Roger Jones Quintet, playing with Eddie Higgins, Walter Perkins, and Leroy Vinnegar.
4.
Wes Montgomery joined them for a recording session in 1957 that included Freddie Hubbard.
5.
The Mastersounds remained in California when Wes Montgomery returned to Indianapolis to work in his trio with organist Melvin Rhyne.
6.
Wes Montgomery worked as a welder during the day to support his wife and seven children, then performed at two clubs at night until well into the morning.
7.
Wes Montgomery was a smoker who had blackouts while trying to maintain this busy schedule.
8.
Adderley was so impressed by Wes Montgomery's guitar playing that he persuaded Orrin Keepnews to sign him to Riverside.
9.
Wes Montgomery joined his brothers in California to perform as the Montgomery Brothers for the Monterey Jazz Festival.
10.
The Mastersounds had broken up, and Buddy and Monk had signed with Fantasy and recorded The Montgomery Brothers, followed by Groove Yard.
11.
Wes Montgomery recorded another album as a leader, So Much Guitar, then while visiting his brothers had a chance to perform with John Coltrane's group in San Francisco.
12.
Wes Montgomery returned to Indianapolis to work in his trio with Rhyne.
13.
At Verve, Wes Montgomery began working with producer Creed Taylor, who produced Wes Montgomery for the rest of the guitarist's life.
14.
Wes Montgomery's first Verve release, Movin' Wes, was an instrumental pop album arranged by Johnny Pate.
15.
At Verve, Wes Montgomery released his last two small-group jazz albums, but his main focus was recording contemporary pop hits as instrumentals.
16.
The success of these albums led to invitations for Wes Montgomery to perform on major US television shows including The Hollywood Palace and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
17.
Wes Montgomery died of a heart attack on June 15,1968, while at home in Indianapolis.
18.
Wes Montgomery used mostly superimposed triads and arpeggios as the main source for his soloing ideas and sounds.
19.
Wes Montgomery developed this technique not for technical reasons but for the benefit of his neighbors and not waking his children.
20.
Wes Montgomery worked long hours as a machinist before his music career began and practiced late at night.
21.
Lee Ritenour recorded a tribute album in 1993, Wes Bound, that contained Montgomery covers and some originals by Ritenour.