B Y J I M CBROUSON
EX. 2
G7
J= 108
EX. 3
J=w
Eb7
c7
EX.4
,
J=ioe
EX. 5
F7
EX. 6
E7
A7ft5
EX. 7
xxx
xx
EX. 8
EX.9
Gm7
Chords. Probably the most overlooked, innovative, and monstrously difficult aspect of
Montgomerys playing was his chord improvisations. He was one of the pioneers of block
chords, a pianistic approach to the guitar,
tl
EX. 10
E7
E7sus4
E7b5b9
E9
E7#5#9
El3
E7b9
E9
EX. 11
Bm7
E7
EX. 12
>
>
>
record an E7 vamp with a swing feel and improvise with Ex. 10s chords. Remember that
Wes employed a variety of voicings, inversions, and substitutions, and often connected
chords chromatically. Ex. 11 shows a phrase
over Bm7-E7. For an example of his chordmelody approach, check out While Were
Young, originally on Riversides So Much
Guitar!
Montgomery also had a very flexible sense
of rhythm, although his intense drive aligned
him stylistically with the hard-bop school
more than any other. In the Sept. 92 GP, Pat
Metheny said, He had an incredibly good
rhythmic feel when he played straight up and
down, but he would also play against things.
Rx. 12s accents show how he might displace a
four-note grouping by one eighth-note, while
J J I J > J J A.
Ex. 13 illustrates a four-note grouping in a
triplet context. Ry these ideas with your own
lines.
For more on Wes and his style and music,
see Steve Khans The Wes Montgomery Guitar
Foliollmprovisations
And Interpretations
[Gopan Enterprises], Jimmy Stewarts Wes
MontgomerylJazz
Guitar Method [Robbins
Music], Adrian Ingrams Wes Montgomery
[Ashley Mark], and Wes Montgomery/Jazz Guitar Solos [Alma] .
In the final analysis, how Wes did something is secondary to what he did. You can
have multiple degrees in harmony and theory,
be a tremendous reader, and have all kinds of
technical skills, says Steve Khan, but in the
end you have to hear something-especially
in jazz. Wes heard something.
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