West Coast Blues

Wes Montgomery (electric guitar), Tommy Flanagan (piano), Percy Heath (bass) and Albert Heath (drums). From the album The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (1960).

With Riverside Records, Montgomery played with small groups, almost always in a trio, fast jazz tunes with lots of swing and ballads, except for Fusion!, where he played with a string ensemble. From 1964 to 1966 he worked with Verve Records recording albums with orchestras, although he also recorded with Wynton Kelly and Jimmy Smith. The album Bumpin’, recorded in 1965, is considered the precursor of smooth jazz.

From 1967 to 1968 he recorded three best-selling albums with A&M Records in which he played simple pop melodies accompanied by sets of strings and woodwinds. His fans weren’t happy, but Montgomery’s albums went on the radio helping to introduce listeners to jazz, while in his live performances continued to play his favorite music. He has been a great influence on other modern jazz guitarists and died in 1968 of a heart attack at the age of 45 at the height of his success.

This is another accessible medium tempo theme that invites you to be in good company. Montgomery makes an entertaining and friendly solo that if you listen carefully makes you discover a different world. Then he goes on to use the octaves with determination to create a balanced and well articulated discourse, and finally plays chord blocks with dexterity. Flanagan follows him choosing a very bluesy and compelling melodic line with interesting phrases. To conclude, the group re-exposes the theme.