Buddy went almost unnoticed when compared to his brother Wes and even Monk but in all seriousness he was their equal in every way as a musician. He had his own unique style as well, Nothing like Wes. More like Bud Powell, maybe. Lots of chops and lots if ideas and he put it all together with a lot of heat. A lot of heat.
----- Original Message -----
From: Alisdair MacRae-Birch
To: jazz_gui
...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 10:07 PM
Subject: [jazz_guitar] RIP: Charles 'Buddy' Montgomery, Pianist and Vibraphonist
From the Los Angeles Times
Jazz musician Charles 'Buddy' Montgomery dies at 79
The pianist and vibraphonist was one of the Montgomery Brothers. His
siblings included well-known guitarist Wes and electric bassist Monk.
By Jon Thurber
11:55 PM PDT, May 24, 2009
Charles "Buddy" Montgomery, the pianist and vibraphonist who was one
of the jazz-playing Montgomery brothers that included the legendary
guitarist Wes Montgomery, has died. He was 79.
Montgomery died May 14 of heart failure at his home in Palmdale,
according to his family.
Buddy was the youngest of the three brothers who made their names in
music. In addition to Wes and Buddy, Monk Montgomery was one of the
first significant electric bassists in jazz. Buddy, Wes and Monk
played together in the Montgomery-Johnson Quintet and as part of the
Montgomery Brothers. Buddy and Monk were also in a group called the
Mastersounds.
Montgomery was born in Indianapolis on Jan. 30, 1930. His musical
family also included a brother, Thomas, who played the drums but died
of pneumonia at 19, and a sister, Ervena, who played piano.
Buddy started out on piano and by 18 was touring with blues singer Big
Joe Turner. He later played with trombonist and arranger Slide
Hampton.
After a stint in the Army during the Korean War, Buddy led the
Montgomery-Johnson Quintet from 1955 to 1957 with his brothers Wes on
guitar and Monk on bass. Alonzo "Pookie" Johnson played alto saxophone
and Sonny Johnson was on drums.
By 1956, Buddy had switched to the vibraphone, an instrument he became
interested in as a teenager after seeing Lionel Hampton. In 1957,
Buddy and Monk formed the Mastersounds, with Benny Barth on drums and
Richie Crabtree on piano. Richard Bock, the owner of Pacific Jazz
Records, released several albums of their work, and the group found
steady gigs in San Francisco. On Buddy's suggestion, one of their
albums, "The King and I: A Modern Jazz Interpretation by the
Mastersounds," featured music from the hit Broadway show. Two of their
other albums were thematic excursions through Broadway productions,
"Kismet: An Interpretation by the Mastersounds" and "Flower Drum Song:
A Modern Jazz Interpretation by the Mastersounds."
In 1959, the group recorded its only live album at what was then
Pasadena Junior College before disbanding late in the year.
Through much of the '60s, the three Montgomery brothers played
together and recorded albums including "Groove Brothers" and "Groove
Yard" as the Montgomery Brothers.
After Wes Montgomery's death from a heart attack in 1968, Buddy moved
to Milwaukee and worked the hotel circuit there for much of the next
decade. In the early 1980s, he lived in the Bay Area recording for
Landmark and Riverside. Monk died in 1982.
Montgomery was active in jazz education, organizing the Milwaukee Jazz
Alliance and later the Oakland Jazz Alliance, which brought jazz into
the public schools in each city.
Montgomery's survivors include his wife, Ann; a son, David; a
daughter, Charla; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He is also survived by his sister.
A memorial service in being planned in Oakland for a later date.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-buddy-montgomery25-2009m...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jazz_guitar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jazz_guitar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:jazz_guitar-dig...@yahoogroups.com
mailto:jazz_guitar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
jazz_guitar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|
