Wes Montgomery's Chord Improvisations / Analyzing Wes

Analyzing WES MONTGOMERY Small clip of Wes Montgomery doing a " Chord Solo Improvisation " Over a Chord Progression / Stop.
Song "FULL HOUSE". See Video Response to see the exact chords Wes is using in this Improvisation.
Chords are transcribed and documented by Bombromusician using DeskTop Guitarist. More instructional material coming soon.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Wes
• Montgomery
• Jazz
• Guitar
• Instruction

[gentilguy]

I never thought of him as an improviser, maybe in blues, but most of his solos must be prepared.

youre saying this solo is improvised, really?

also, thats a blues like chord progression with alterations and substitutions, with a more jazz bridge in the major relative. nothing impossible to play on.

[Bomberomusician]

LOL...Yes, mostly everything that Wes played (away from the main structure) was improvised. Sure I'm sure he had his bag of tricks that he used. But he soloed to what he was hearing at any given moment.

[Bomberomusician]

These are the Chords that he is soloing over

Fm Bb7 (3) C7#9 Gb7 Fm

Bridge

Bbm Eb7 Abmaj7 Db7 Gb7 Bb7 C7#9 Gb7 Fm

[MegaLolburger]

It seems pre-constructed to me to. He is definitely improvising, but its more logical to think he had some sort of basic structure to this before-hand which he then built upon. Many guitarists/bands do this (Chili Peppers my personal favourite band they have a lot of beautiful jams, band of gypsys, buckethead etc) They just agree upon a chord progression and then it goes from there. Obviously Wes was an extremely talented guitarist so it is probable that most of this was improv.

[taildragger53]

@encounter1000 Oh yes, absolutely.,the point is...we are all left analysing..intellectualising on something that was part of an auto reflex to Wes Montgomery. Students at Jazz Colleges who are voracious sight readers continue to criticise his unorthodox skill .

Clever bastards on ytube claim to know MORE than Wes! (ha ha!!) Wes didn't analyse, read music or claim to be clever He didn't have time..he just PLAYED.

In the interview i have of him in 1965 he says just this.

[taildragger53]

@gentilguy I can't believe the smug comments on here from someone like you. Yes, we KNOW it's the Blues...Jazz is 80% Blues based..didn't you know?

It's nearing 50 yrs since Wes was around and people are still talkng about and analysing his solos..

Just how many will be still praising you in 50 yrs time?

Wes was a great guy who was self deprecating and always thought others were ahead of him.

A friend of my family interviewed him in 1965.

Shame you miss the point and lack SOUL.

[twixttime]

@gentilguy

"This comment has received too many negative votes"

Funnily I think Wesley would not have voted this comment down.

I also think the only person who found his playing 'preconceived', a better term than prepared, was perhaps Wes himself.

His stuff isnt wholly improvised, even the world took six days( !?) to 'throw out'.

If things worked like that Wes would have been as good on the first day he picked up the guitar as the last time he played.

But he made up as he played.

[TheBlues088]

@Dazzer1234567 Download the DVD. There are about 4 another songs on this recording.

[Dazzer1234567]

Where can we see the full song?

[SpectacularFrontiers]

Listening to Mr. Montgomery puts me a superb state of absolute relaxation

[William102582]

What makes him great is not about those technical stuff, anybody can imitate that now, it's how he play from the inside, have that fantastic groove and sound so natural and free, even a guitarists who knows all the techinique in the world can't be immediately like that!

[sitarnut]

@encounter1000 Too true- a monster to be reckoned with by us mortals- I can't even FIND the notes on the fretboard he hears.....been listening to him since IJG Riverside LP my bro and I bought new in the 60's-- gosh, he is sorely missed. You are so correct- we're still quaking in our boots... like Santana says in his video, "You hear two notes and you know it's WES".

[railcar123]

Very nice!