Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 3 Jul 2009 8:01 am |
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Wes Montgomery is one of my favorite jazz guitarists. I haven't heard one recording by Wes that is anything less than excellent and most of his work is in the rarified realm of genius. His overall musicality is staggering - from his swing feel, choice of notes, to his groundbreaking octave and chord block solos and moreover, in his melodic and thematic development where ideas flow logically and accents are placed in exceptionally fresh and usually ways. His extended jazz solos on tunes like Coltrane's Impressions are almost exhausting to listen to because Wes was so adept at building, sustaining and releasing musical tension. Unlike many jazz critics, I revere his pop material equally. It's one thing to groove over a 5-min improvisation and quite another skill to play a breathtaking 8, 16, or 32 bar solo on a pop tune that's letter-perfect in feel, ideas, and musicality. Take this performance of Jobim's How Insensitive ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdO6wP3CqqQ
After stating the theme Wes' octave solo immediately grabs you in its clarity and placement against the beat - a lesson in syncopation alternating with great melodic phrasing. Around 1:50 he begins a series of chord stabs that are astounding for their rhythmic displacement against the beat. If I could achieve this on lap steel I'd be in heaven.
Now, Hawaiian steeler Dick McIntire. On the surface, you wouldn't immediately put these two musicians in the same category but to my ears, they actually have a lot in common. Like Wes, McIntire had beautiful tone and feel and the ability to play warmly and melodically over a wide range of material. What�s more, though a lot of people have called him the inventor of the legato electric style (that Jerry Byrd took and ran with) I hear him as much more rhythmically versatile.
Check out this recording of Twilight Blues. Like Wes, Dick was a master of phrasing against the beat in fresh and unusual ways. At about 1:30 he clearly demonstrates this ability, which helps to propel the tune forward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExrJCvglgBE
Both Wes and Dick alternated smooth melodic playing with very syncopated stacato sounds and that's something I've tried to incorporate into my steel playing. Joaquin Murphey was around McIntire as a kid in the LA studios run by Ernie Ball's father and personally, I think this kind of playing was one of JM's influences. Both of these performances were huge influences on me and are recordings I can hear dozens of times and still glean ideas. Both are among my all-time favorite musicians.
One last story: in the early days of the forum, I posted that when I played octaves on a lap steel it sound so lame compared to the attack and "thwack" that Wes got on every octave he played. To my surprise, Buddy Emmons replied that he too had struggled with this same issue - getting Wes's octave sound on steel - and had devised a way to mute in between the strings and sweep his thumbpick across the strings. I can't recall exactly what he said but I'd sure like to re-read it now. Unfortunately, those early posts don't exist.
Last edited by Andy Volk on 16 Dec 2013 6:40 am; edited 2 times in total |
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