Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a distinctive sound. Montgomery often worked with his brothers Buddy (Charles F.) and Monk (William H.), as well as organist Melvin Rhyne. His recordings up to 1965 were oriented toward hard bop, soul jazz, and post bop, but around 1965 he began recording more pop-oriented instrumental albums that found mainstream success. His later guitar style influenced jazz fusion and smooth jazz.
Genre: jazz, hard-bop, bebop, cool-jazz, jazz-ballads
Copyright Verification
- CopyrightID (CopyrightChains tx_hash): 0x0185c253882f1741c126121eb7ee59555c5e3baec7d69dacaa68f9fe74ec1203
- Status: registered
- Registered: 2026-06-11T19:03:25+00:00
- Explorer: https://explorer.copyrightchains.com/tx/0x0185c253882f1741c126121eb7ee59555c5e3baec7d69dacaa68f9fe74ec1203
- Bitcoin block (earliest attestation): 953407, 2026-06-12T19:24:56Z
- Record hash: sha256:5ac6e5cca0f1c5209f79e22b0cabfd034199d3afb4968917e5a8779c56368ad3
- Anchored record: https://artists.proofprofile.net/proofs/artist/47fe6edb-c3db-49c3-9054-9f209259819f.json
- OpenTimestamps proof: https://artists.proofprofile.net/proofs/artist/47fe6edb-c3db-49c3-9054-9f209259819f.ots
- Verification result: https://artists.proofprofile.net/api/v1/bot/ots/verify/artist/47fe6edb-c3db-49c3-9054-9f209259819f
- Bitcoin block lookup: https://blockstream.info/api/block-height/953407
Top Tracks
- Night Train (Album Version)
- King Of The Road
- End Of A Love Affair
- S.K.J.
- Four on Six (Arr. J. Krupa)
- Sunny - Alternate Take
- How Insensitive
- West Coast Blues
- Four On Six
- Gone With The Wind
- Mr Walker
- In Your Own Sweet Way
- West Coast Blues
- Four On Six
- Polka Dots And Moonbeams
- D-Natural Blues
- Airegin
- Tequila
- The Shadow Of Your Smile
- Baby, It's Cold Outside
Albums (74)
- Smokin' At The Half Note (Expanded Edition) (1965-01-01)
- Plays Ballads (2023-09-08)
- Plays The Great American Songbook (2023-09-08)
- One Night in Indy (2016-01-15)
- Full House (Remastered 2026 / Live At Tsubo / 1962) (2026-02-27)
- Boss Guitar (Remastered 2025) (2025-11-21)
- Four Classic Albums (The Montgomery Brothers in Canada / So Much Guitar! / Bags Meets Wes! / Full House) (2024-06-07)
- Maximum Swing: The Unissued 1965 Half Note Recordings (Recorded Live at the Half Note) (2023-12-01)
- The Complete Full House Recordings (Live At Tsubo / 1962) (2023-11-10)
- House Full (Live London '65) (2023-06-11)
- Back on Indiana Avenue: The Carroll DeCamp Recordings (2019-04-19)
- Gone with the Wind (2018-09-06)
- Delilah (2018-09-06)
- Body and Soul (2018-09-06)
- Smokin’ in Seattle (Live at the Penthouse, 1966) (2017-05-19)
- In the Beginning (2015-05-12)
- So Much Guitar! [Original Jazz Classics Remasters] (2013-01-01)
- Echoes of Indiana Avenue (2012-03-06)
- Boss Guitar [Original Jazz Classics Remasters] (Remastered 2010 / Expanded Edition) (2010-01-01)
- Kismet and The King and I (2009)
- Bags Meets Wes [Keepnews Collection] (2008-01-01)
- Pretty Blue [2-fer] (2007-01-01)
- Impressions (Live) (2006)
- Incredible Jazz Guitar (2000-01-01)
- Talkin' Verve: Roots Of Acid Jazz (1996-01-16)
- Fingerpickin' (1996-01-01)
- The Alternative Wes Montgomery (1989-01-01)
- Fusion! (1989-01-01)
- Bags Meets Wes (1987-01-01)
- Just Walkin' (1971-01-01)
- Willow Weep For Me (1969-01-01)
- Further Adventures Of Jimmy And Wes (1969-01-01)
- Road Song (1968-08-10)
- Down Here On The Ground (1968-01-01)
- A Day In The Life (1967-01-01)
- Tequila (Expanded Edition) (1966-12-03)
- Jimmy And Wes (The Dynamic Duo) (1966-09-21)
- The Dynamic Duo (Expanded Edition) (1966-01-01)
- California Dreaming (1966)
- Goin' Out Of My Head (1965-01-01)
- Bumpin' (Expanded Edition) (1965-01-01)
- The NDR Hamburg Studio Recordings (Live) (1965)
- Movin' Wes (1964-01-01)
- Montgomeryland (1960)
- Birk's Works (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 12, 1965) (2023-11-10)
- S.O.S. (Take 1 / Alternate Version / Live At Tsubo / 1962) (2023-10-20)
- Four on Six (Recorded Live at the Half Note, November 12, 1965) (2023-10-20)
- I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face (Live At Tsubo / 1962) (2023-09-14)
- West Coast Blues (1965)
- Plays The Blues (2025-07-16)
- On Riverside: Wes Montgomery (2023-11-02)
- Plays the Blues (2023-09-08)
- Wes's Best: The Best of Wes Montgomery on Resonance (2019-06-21)
- Wes Montgomery: Verve Ultimate Cool (2013-01-01)
- Movin’: The Complete Verve Recordings (2011-09-27)
- Plays The Hits: Great Songs/Great Performances (2010-04-20)
- Wes Montgomery Plays For Lovers (2008-01-01)
- Best Of/20th Century (2006-09-19)
- Riverside Profiles: Wes Montgomery (2006-01-01)
- The Best Of Wes Montgomery (2004-01-01)
- Wes Montgomery's Finest Hour (2000-06-27)
- Dangerous (1999-01-01)
- Ultimate Wes Montgomery (1998-02-24)
- Groove Brothers (1998-01-01)
- Jazz Masters - Wes Montgomery (1997-01-01)
- Wes Montgomery: Greatest Hits (1996-05-07)
- Encores, Volume 2: Blue 'N' Boogie (1996-01-01)
- Encores, Volume 1: Body & Soul (1996-01-01)
- Impressions: The Verve Jazz Sides (1995-04-18)
- Verve Jazz Masters 14: Wes Montgomery (1994)
- The Artistry Of Wes Montgomery (1989-01-01)
- Movin' Along (1988-01-01)
- Compact Jazz: Wes Montgomery Plays The Blues (1988-01-01)
- Smokin' At The Half Note (1965-01-01)
Recordings with proof (11)
- Prelude to a Kiss (Live); ISRC USA2P1550012; CopyrightID 0xbef38300aead4df06eb9c51ec93ef835c91bfb819af267b71e414ab8a8b82593; Bitcoin block 957120; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- I Should Care; ISRC USA2P1494583; CopyrightID 0x76a22f2433e6a63c081a9f9ab177c78757c463e9c706c94c7e0725fc9f06d73d; Bitcoin block 957120; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- Li'l Darling (Live); ISRC USA2P1550014; CopyrightID 0x3bc2ebeef288d429078ca0e78a476f4fb1a3a4d146049e156942fd66995f379f; Bitcoin block 957118; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- The End of a Love Affair; ISRC USA2P1918223; CopyrightID 0x6871bf35bc49c30792e928ffd77fb2099efc1e24638430141a10fffca67a8b56; Bitcoin block 957120; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- I'll Remember April; ISRC USA2P1918239; CopyrightID 0x1352ee6269f720183cdc2fad693f4b5e344e0948f91269cabf8b8dba49b19309; Bitcoin block 957124; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- Give Me the Simple Life; ISRC USA2P1550011; CopyrightID 0xfaf1afe006fc8cf7c1dad1d968f4947e523b4548b3f0eff58a1200581e18ccc3; Bitcoin block 957118; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You; ISRC USA2P1918228; CopyrightID 0x8aeabf80ed0fc165fc67b3d87545097872283df686733d7e70bcbccbe50108c4; Bitcoin block 957124; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- Give Me the Simple Life; ISRC USA2P1550011; CopyrightID 0xfaf1afe006fc8cf7c1dad1d968f4947e523b4548b3f0eff58a1200581e18ccc3; Bitcoin block 957120; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- Prelude to a Kiss; ISRC USA2P1550012; CopyrightID 0xbef38300aead4df06eb9c51ec93ef835c91bfb819af267b71e414ab8a8b82593; Bitcoin block 957118; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- Stompin’ at the Savoy; ISRC USA2P1550013; CopyrightID 0xb9c6c86b7d4b51ba0f81970adf1fb7598cce8611920873cd020d0f907c1a78d1; Bitcoin block 957118; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
- Li’l Darling; ISRC USA2P1550014; CopyrightID 0x3bc2ebeef288d429078ca0e78a476f4fb1a3a4d146049e156942fd66995f379f; Bitcoin block 957118; anchored record, OpenTimestamps proof, verification result
Full machine-verifiable record (JSON-LD, dual-chain proof, every album and recording): https://artists.proofprofile.net/storage/jsonld/artists/5605/artist-415237.json
Popularity-0 recordings of Wes Montgomery in everplay, described from supplier metadata.