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Wes Montgomery – The Most Amazing Jazz Music Guitarist Ever – Part 4

One of the most enjoyable facets of the guitar style of Wes Montgomery was his jazz chord technique! He had a natural born ability for chord melody solos and was able to seamlessly combine improvised block chording into his solo guitar playing – as in “Cariba”, “Sundown”, “Missile Blues” and a great number of others that are still available in numerous collection books of Jazz Guitar tabs and jazz guitar tablature. His harmonic conception was “piano thinking” applied to the guitar and at the time seemed impossible – particularly when thinking of the ease and smoothness with which he performed his chord passages even at break neck speeds! Wes simply heard it that way and again, redefined all of the rules.

Wes was equally adept at harmonizing and playing a melody (the head of a song) with his block chord approach, typically building unusual and downright peculiar voicings to the harmonic framework of the song! Instances in point are the ear catching performances heard in the Broadway standard “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face” and his original composition “Mi Cosa”. He played his chord phrases with a thumb strumming technique equivalent in articulation to his octave playing.

Wes Montgomery was a master of melodic invention – having the technique, emotional content, taste, and originality to turn any piece into an ear catching musical experience. As an improviser Wes was particularly concerned with motif development, however in a very natural and instinctive way. He was the consummate story teller – leading an enthralled audience in chorus after chorus of inspired playing – revealing a motif here, developing it later, introducing a blues move, and after that seasoning it with bebop modernism and chromatic tension.

Wes’ motifs and signature guitar phrases ran the gamut from straightforward blues ideas to complex bebop phrases. Just like John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, Montgomery was always aware of where he was in the harmonic scheme of a composition. He constantly varied textures, rhythmic and harmonic complexity, and changes of pitch. Ultimately, regardless of the tempo, Wes Montgomery kept lyricism, fluidity, and precision – and above all else, “soul” in all of his improvising.

Wes Montgomery created quite a few of his best solos with great priority for form. Using the basic components of single notes, octaves, and block chords he pursued a clear method that was a general 3 tier plan normally occuring over several choruses. Commencing with single note playing in the starting choruses, Wes would afterwards proceed to octaves and usually reached a powerful climax of block chording in the last choruses. These were from time to time made a lot more ear catching with the use of a blues based question and answer treatment of octave “punches” interspersed with repeating chord phrases reminiscent of a big band “shout chorus”. Wes Montgomery’s sense of improvisation was practically uncanny and precisely the kind of universal musicality that turned the jazz world on its’ collective ear – bringing in even the non-jazz listener to his ingratiating jazz guitar style!

About the Author

Peabody Conservatory trained guitarist Steven Herron helps guitar players become better guitarists. His company ChordMelody.com features an enormous selection of
jazz guitar tabs

as well as instructional DVDs by Wes Montgomery himself. Find out more and claim Steven’s popular free monthly Guitar Lesson e-course available at: =>

http://www.chordmelody.com/Wes-Montgomery.htm

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