TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Wes Montgomery forever changed jazz guitar. Playing with his thumb instead of a pick, he created a warm, rounded tone that was instantly his own. He made the octave style famous—playing melodies in doubled notes—that became his signature and influenced generations of guitarists.
Montgomery’s playing blended dazzling technique with deep soul. On tunes like Four on Six and West Coast Blues, he showed how complex harmonies and blues feeling could live side by side.
His ballad work—Polka Dots and Moonbeams or Days of Wine and Roses—revealed unmatched lyricism.
He also bridged jazz with popular audiences, recording hits like Windy and Goin’ Out of My Head that brought jazz guitar into the mainstream.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and South Carolina Public Radio, made possible by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.