Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery was born in Indianapolis on 6th March 1923 and died at the very young age of 45. Many of the great jazz guitarists had short lives: Charlie Christian – 25; Django Reinhardt – 43 for example.
Wes followed in the musical line of Charlie Christian and Django and influenced many to come such as George Benson, Jimi Hendrix and Pat Martino. He didn’t start learning the guitar until age 20 – basically playing by ear. He started out by copying Charlie Christian solos off recordings. Wes used his thumb rather than pick or fingers which gave him a distinctive tone.
Pat Metheny said he “learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery’s Smokin’ at the Half Note.” Joe Pass said,”To me, there have been only three real innovators on the guitar—Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt”.
Wes Montgomery in 1966 [public domain]