Featured In
ALBUMMaximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Recorded Live at the Half Note)Wes Montgomery & Wynton Kelly Trio
Albums by Wes Montgomery
ALBUMIn the BeginningWes Montgomery
ALBUMMontgomerylandWes Montgomery
ALBUMBoss Guitar (Original Jazz Classics Remasters)Wes Montgomery
ALBUMDangerousWes Montgomery
ALBUMGroove BrothersWes Montgomery
ALBUMEncores, Vol. 1: Body & SoulWes Montgomery
ALBUMPlays the BluesWes Montgomery
ALBUMFurther Adventures Of Jimmy And WesJimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery
ALBUMRoad SongWes Montgomery
ALBUMDown Here on the GroundWes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery's Popular Music Videos
Four On Six (Live)
Wes Montgomery
Artist Playlists
Wes Montgomery Essentials
This innovative jazz guitarist was a true master of melody.
Inspired by Wes Montgomery
Easygoing tones and brisk melodic imagination on jazz guitar.
Wes Montgomery: Deep Cuts
Elegant hidden treasures and powerful live takes.
Artist Biography
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
Genre
Jazz