Wes Montgomery (1923-1968) was a famous jazz musician and thought to be one of America’s most influential jazz guitarists. http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/artists/Wes-Montgomery/ He was born in Indianapolis to a musical family that was talented, but not wealthy. He received no formal musical training. His career began to take off when he and his two brothers released several albums as The Montgomery Brothers. Montgomery was well known for his innovative techniques. His particular style of playing was said to preempt the “smooth jazz” movement. Montgomery’s use of octaves was also unique and became known as “the Naptown Sound.” http://indianapolis-indiana.funcityfinder.com/2010/04/01/wes-montgomery/
Wes Montgomery was a family man. He and wife Serene had seven children. Before he was able to survive as a musician alone, he worked long hours as a machinist. He would practice late into the night while his family was sleeping, instead of using a guitar pick, he would strum softly with his thumb. This technique resulted in a mellow “smooth” tone. George Benson, a collaborator on the Ultimate Wes Montgomery Album, mentioned that the corn on his thumb from manual strumming was what gave Montgomery his unique sound, “That’s why no one will ever match Wes,” said Benson.
Wes Montgomery died from a heart attack, said to be due from stress and overwork, when he was just 47 years old at his home in Indiana. http://www.playjazzguitar.com/wes_montgomery.html
Career
Wes Montgomery began his career emulating such guitarists as Charlie Christian and later continued Christian's and Django Reinhardt's establishment of the guitar as a viable part of bebop jazz. Later, Montgomery moved away from jazz to release instrumental covers of popular songs from The Beatles, The Mamas & the Papas and other contemporary artists, and so helped usher in the Smooth Jazz movement.
