Wes Montgomery
_This Indianapolis
native taught himself guitar at the age of 18, and
gained a signature sound by using his thumb instead of a pick.
After touring with Lionel Hampton for two years, he came back home, and
for
years he worked a day job to support his family and played jazz at
night. In the late 1950s, he recorded with his brothers; one played
vibes
and the other played bass. After several other albums, he caught on
with one recorded in 1960, and played as a leader for the rest of his
career.
Late in his career, he made a number of recordings for the A & M
label with strings and woodwinds, which bothered jazz purists but which
also got
radio airplay, brought new fans to jazz and helped provide for his
family. Years of overwork took their toll, and he died at only 43 in
1968 of a
heart attack. However, Wes Montgomery continues to have many loyal
fans and is highly influential among guitarists some 35 years after his
death.
Joe Pass
_This New Jersey
native played in some swing groups and in Charlie
Barnet's big band while still in his teens, but lost ten years of
his career due to drug addiction and imprisonment. However, when he
made
a recording while in the famous Synanon drug treatment center, he
came back on the scene, both as a solo artist and in groups with Gerald
Wilson,
Les McCann, Benny Goodman, and George Shearing. He also made a
famous series of duet recordings with Ella Fitzgerald, and many other
recordings
for the Pablo label and other labels with Count Basie, Oscar
Peterson, Milt Jackson, Duke Ellington and many others. His solo
recordings are
also legendary among guitar connoisseurs. Joseph Anthony
Passalaqua, better known under his stage name of Joe Pass, is one of the
many
legendary guitarists heard on WAER.