The incredible Jazz guitar of Wes Montgomery begins International Guitar Month
Wes Montgomery is one of the legends of Jazz guitar. But, he also tried to make inroads into pop music by covering some of the big hits of the 1960s. Let's listen to one of each genre:
Montgomery recorded two albums with organist Jimmy Smith. From the album “The Dynamic Duo”, this is “James & Wes”
One of his final albums was “A Day in the Life”, in 1967. In this clip, he covers the title track, made famous by The Beatles off their “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album.
Wes Montgomery died in 1968 at the young age of forty-five. While we are left to imagine what he could have done, you can hear it in the work of those who said he influenced them. This includes Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pete Townshend and Peter Frampton.
In tomorrow’s International Guitar Month piece, we’ll feature another Jazz guitarist influenced by Montgomery, George Benson.