Composure, modesty and determination: that’s the stuff Wes Montgomery must have been made of. He decided to concentrate on music late in life - a decision with little prospect for success. His family was rapidly growing, he was the father of six children. He earned his money by the sweat of his brow in a soldering factory by day, and played in Indianapolis clubs by night. He taught himself everything he knew about music. Although he had a long time to wait for success, Wes Montgomery never gave up.

He was an unconventional man, driving around the country by car because he was scared of flying, even when he played on the West Coast or in New York. When George Benson, a young and later very famous colleague, asked what was his greatest wish, he answered, .a new Cadillac and alligator shoes. He played on stage with the great John Coltrane a number of times, and when Coltrane asked him to become a permanent member of his band, Wes refused after much consideration. He didn’t think he was capable of the job. Later, at the height of his fame, he broke off recordings with a string orchestra. He asked the producer to record him on his own and blend in the accompanying strings later on - he felt intimidated because he was the only one who couldn’t read music.

His technique was breathtaking, virtuoso, pioneering. No one before him in jazz had had such complete command of the guitar in all its many facets. One signature of his style is playing melodies, random improvised scales and arpeggios in parallel octaves - previously an impossible feat! And all along, he created a sound of immense depth and warmth on his Gibson guitar. If you study the excellent surviving film documents of Wes playing, you’ll make an astounding discovery: his left hand seems to hardly touch the strings, moving vertically and horizontally as if in a trance. And the thumb of his right hand, which Wes preferred to use rather than a plectrum, only tenderly strokes the strings even in the fastest passages, almost whispering. Controlled, complete relaxation, coolness.

Composure, modesty and determination. To me, the life and work of Wes Montgomery seem like a parable on the idea of mastery, on the complete equilibrium of these three forces.

In 2004 I was looking for ways to develop a deeper understanding for Montgomery’s perfection and create parallels between the beauty and precision of his improvisations and my own world of classical music. Looking at baroque forms, such as Antonio Vivaldi’s numerous concertos, I noticed that solo voices are noted in fragmentary form, leaving space to be filled in, or similar to improvisations in written form. I decided to transcribe and interpret my favourite Montgomery solos, just as I would do with 17th century concertos. I think it was the deeply rooted joy, hidden in this music as infectiously as an influenza virus, which took hold of me.

May Wes Montgomery’s mastery and his eternal smile work their infectious magic on you too!

Marc Sinan, May 2007, Berlin