Wes Montgomery is regarded one of the three founding fathers of the jazz guitar, the other two being Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt.
Montgomery changed the world of music with his hitchhiker’s thumb, impossible guitar techniques, and sumptuous musical talent. He recorded 20 albums as a leader, many of them best-sellers, and won many readers’ and critics’ polls, as well as three Grammy Nominations and two Grammy Awards.
Montgomery achieved all this in less than 10 years after his breakthrough at the age of 36, because in another example of the tragically short, meteoric career of many jazz greats, he died in 1968, aged just 45.
Wes Montgomery lived in Indianapolis almost his entire life, and also died there. On the morning of June 15, 1968, he woke up in his house with chest pains, and soon afterwards collapsed of a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at the local hospital at 10:40am.
Wes Montgomery’s spirit has also been kept alive by his recordings, which today include a large amount of posthumous releases. Moreover, a new documentary about him, working title Wes Bound is being made end scheduled for release in 2023.
But most of all Montgomery’s spirit remains alive in the countless players who are influenced by him. Joe Pass once said, “To me, there have been only three real innovators on the guitar—Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt.” And the great John Scofield once remarked, “I tried to copy Wes Montgomery, but it was too hard.”
Just a few of the countless jazz guitarists who have referenced Montgomery include George Benson, Martin Taylor, John Etheridge, Pat Metheny, Larry Coryell, Jim Mullen, and Lee Ritenour. The latter released an album called “Wes Bound” in 1993 and called his son Wesley. Montgomery also has been name-checked by rock and blues players like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Satriani, Steve Howe, Joe Bonamassa, and many, many others.
