Jazz
appreciation is an ongoing process and in-order to appreciate jazz, there is a
need for some understanding of the music and a little knowledge of those who
made it famous. We have covered many areas of jazz thus far, and have featured
several jazz personalities in an effort to bring about an understanding of this
beautiful music. However, the best and most effective way to appreciate jazz is
to listen to the music and attend live jazz concerts. Unfortunately, in the
Gambia there are no known jazz musicians, and the few who can play jazz, are
not as inclined, because jazz is not commercial enough to pay the bills. Back
in 2009, some friends and I tried to correct this situation with the
introduction of the Senegambia Jazz Society. We were encouraged by Mr. Sharif
Samsu Sallah of GamTV who provided musical instruments and space for a jazz
quartet to practice. The project lasted a few months before it was suspended
due to the same reasons cited above.
We
have showcased the different instruments that are typically used in jazz, but
one instrument that has also been part of the jazz story and has not received
the needed attention, is the Guitar.
Guitarists
have been making major contributions to jazz since the 1920’s when a guy called
Eddie Lang first started adding his brand of six strings sophistication to
performances by local bands. However, the history of jazz guitar has remained
largely undocumented. The term jazz guitar may refer to either a type of guitar
or to the variety of guitar playing styles used in various genres commonly
termed ‘Jazz’. The jazz type guitar was born as a result of using electric
amplification to increase the volume of the conventional acoustic guitar.
Although the earliest guitars used in jazz were acoustic, and acoustic guitars
are still sometimes used in jazz, most jazz guitarists since the 1940’s have
performed on an electronically amplified guitar or an electric guitar itself.
Conceived in the 1930’s, the electric guitar became a necessity as jazz
musicians sought to amplify their sound. One of the major jazz guitarist that
emerged after seminal figures such as Django Reinhart and Charlie Christian,
was a guy called Wes Montgomery.
His
birth name was Wesley Montgomery; he was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on March
6th 1923. He came from a musical family; his brother Monk played the string
bass and electric bass, while his other brother Buddy played the vibraphone and
piano. Wes himself was not skilled at reading music, but could learn complex
melodies and rifts by ear. He started learning the guitar at a relatively late
age of nineteen, by listening to and learning the recordings of his idol,
guitarist Charlie Christian. He was known for his ability to play Christian’s
solo note for note, and was later regarded as the greatest influence among
modern jazz guitarists. He was considered along with Charlie Christian and
Django Reinhart, as the only true innovators on the guitar, influencing
countless guitar players who are great on their own, but all of them emulating
the great Wes Montgomery.
Among
those that he influenced, are Kenny Burrell, George Benson, Pat Matheny and
Jimi Hendrix. By 1948, Wes has progressed significantly and was hired by Lionel
Hampton. He toured with Hampton’s big band for the next two
years,
performing and recording, with most of his studio recordings limited to rhythm
playing and every now and then playing some solo.
In
1950,Wes left Hampton’s band and returned to Indiana where he played with local
bands before forming his own band called the Wes Montgomery Trio. Between 1959
and 1963, he made some important recordings; among them: The Incredible Jazz
Guitar of Wes Montgomery, the Wes Montgomery Trio and Full House. Throughout
the 1960’s, Wes recorded prolifically; lending guitar to the same tunes his
contemporaries like John Coltrane and Miles Davis were recording. He had a very
wide influence on other jazz players and earned a lot of respect from his
contemporaries. To many, his playing style defines ‘jazz guitar’ and gives the
sound that all beginners try to emulate. A discussion of jazz guitar will not
be complete, if it does not touch upon Wes Montgomery.
When
he left Lionel Hampton’s band in 1950, it was mainly due to the combined stress
of touring and being away from his family. He returned home to support his
family of eight, working in a factory from 7am to 3pm, and then performed in
local clubs from 9pm to 2am. It was during one of these club sessions when
Cannonball Adderly heard him play and was very impressed. The next day, Adderly
called record producer Orrin Keepnews who after hearing Montgomery, decided to
sign him to a recording contract with Riverside Records. He later recorded with
Wes on his Pollwinners album. During this same period, John Coltrane asked
Montgomery to join his band after a jam session, but Wes declined , and
continued playing with his own band, preferring his status as guitar playing
bandleader. His recordings throughout the 60’s up through 1965 received a lot
of accolade from jazz purist, but towards the end of his career, he abandoned
hard-bop for pop jazz, which gained him a wider audience. During this period,
he would occasionally turn out original material alongside jazzy orchestral
arrangements of pop songs. This period earned him considerable wealth and
created a platform for a new audience to hear his earlier recordings.
Wes
stayed with Riverside Records until late 1963 before the company went bankrupt.
The recordings he made during this period are widely considered to be
Montgomery’s best and most influential. Two sessions in 1960, yielded – ‘The
Incredible Guitar of Wes Montgomery’ which was recorded with a quartet
featuring pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert
‘Tootie’ Heath. This album featured two of Montgomery’s best known
compositions: ‘Four on Six’ and ‘West Coast Blues’. Almost all his recordings
with
Riverside
records featured Wes the guitarist in small group settings, usually a trio, a
quartet or a quintet with his old friend organist Melvin Rhyne always
present.
In
1964, Montgomery moved to Verve Records and recorded a number of albums where
he was featured with an orchestra-brass dominated band. However, he never abandoned
jazz entirely, and in 1965 he released a pair of albums that he made with
organist Jimmy Smith, ‘The Dynamic Duo’ and ‘Further Adventures of Jimmy and
Wes’. In 1967, Wes moved to A&M Records and was now recording different
music for the pop market while still playing his customary guitar in small
group settings in live performances. The three albums released during his
A&M period- “Scarborough Fair”, “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Eleanor Rigby”
were the most commercially successful albums of his career, but featured the
least jazz improvisation. He did not live long to enjoy his commercial success.
On June 15th 1968, while at home in Indianapolis, he woke up one morning and
said to his wife, “Don’t feel very well”, - minutes later, he collapsed and died
from a heart attack.
Wes
Montgomery is commonly acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz guitarist of
all time, and one of the most influential and esteemed musicians in jazz.
This
article is dedicated to Burang Goree Ndaiye for his support of Jazz.
