. Got a call from a friend in CA this morning that he had passed. Last of the Montgomery brothers and a fine pianist!
Buddy Montgomery
Started by
sheldonm
, May 15 2009 01:16 PM
20 replies to this topic
#5
sheldonm
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Posted 15 May 2009 - 02:54 PM
We've lost a handful of the Indy guys in the past few years....Freddie, both Hampton Sisters (Slide's sisters), Jimmy Coe, Pookie Johnson, Dave Young and now Buddy. Ran into him from time to time when he was back in town...sad!
#8
fasstrack
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Posted 15 May 2009 - 04:54 PM
Sad, sad, sad. Was he in Oakland? I was just listening to him with Wes and Monk yesterday. Well, at least I got to play with him a few times in '91 when he played the Parker Meridian for a while. I can verify what the other guy said, he was very nice. What a great family.....has passed away
Well, they did their thing and won't be forgotten. Bye, Buddy.
#9
ValerieB
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Posted 15 May 2009 - 05:37 PM
Sad, sad, sad. Was he in Oakland? I was just listening to him with Wes and Monk yesterday. Well, at least I got to play with him a few times in '91 when he played the Parker Meridian for a while. I can verify what the other guy said, he was very nice. What a great family.....has passed away
Well, they did their thing and won't be forgotten. Bye, Buddy.
i'm SO grateful i got to enjoy all three brothers over the years!!
i think Buddy was around the Simi Valley area with family. not sure.
#10
sheldonm
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Posted 15 May 2009 - 06:34 PM
Sad, sad, sad. Was he in Oakland? I was just listening to him with Wes and Monk yesterday. Well, at least I got to play with him a few times in '91 when he played the Parker Meridian for a while. I can verify what the other guy said, he was very nice. What a great family.....has passed away
Well, they did their thing and won't be forgotten. Bye, Buddy.
i'm SO grateful i got to enjoy all three brothers over the years!!
i think Buddy was around the Simi Valley area with family. not sure.
...the last address I had for him was Palmdale, CA.
#11
sheldonm
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Posted 15 May 2009 - 06:41 PM
...several years ago he played piano at the Indy Jazz Fest and then did a gig the next night with all the great Indy guys and played vibes. Some of those in attendance were...Freddie Hubbard, Mel Rhyne, Jimmy Coe, Pookie Johnson, Slide, Billy Wooten, Phil Ranelin, James Spaulding and Pharez Whitted....too many to remember. I had a chance to photograph the show and hang out with everyone afterwards. James Spaulding and Freddie talking about their lean days hanging out with each other...playing all the time because they didn't have money for food...stuff like that. Spent an hour talking with vibist Billy Wooten...still an interesting guy to talk with. Still many of the guys above still with us....! I have tentative plans to photograph Spaulding next month in nyc...looking forward to it.
#12
fasstrack
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Posted 15 May 2009 - 07:35 PM
We played a duet on Autumn Leaves---like a mambo, I think. I was following him. My hand got tired playing bass and I was about to drop tempo and Buddy jumped right in with his left hand for the rest of the tune. Right then he gave me a look like 'Yeah, I dig what's happening'. The first time I went there I got a buzz on the amp somehow and I was drug. I drove him back to Jersey where he was staying (no, the hotel didn't spring for a room) and I was complaining, apologizing about the glitch. He said 'you're as bad as my brother' (meaning Wes). That about broke me up. A great guy with great ears.Sad, sad, sad. Was he in Oakland? I was just listening to him with Wes and Monk yesterday. Well, at least I got to play with him a few times in '91 when he played the Parker Meridian for a while. I can verify what the other guy said, he was very nice. What a great family.....has passed away
Well, they did their thing and won't be forgotten. Bye, Buddy.
i'm SO grateful i got to enjoy all three brothers over the years!!
i think Buddy was around the Simi Valley area with family. not sure.
#15
stevebop
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#18
Peter Friedman
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Posted 16 May 2009 - 02:43 PM
What a drag! Buddy was a fine piano player (and vibes player) who was not recorded as much as he deserved.
I particularly like these 3 CDs by Buddy as leader.
Here Again - Sharp 9
A Love Affair In Paris - Space Time
Live At Maybeck - Concord Jazz
I particularly like these 3 CDs by Buddy as leader.
Here Again - Sharp 9
A Love Affair In Paris - Space Time
Live At Maybeck - Concord Jazz
#19
Hot Ptah
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Posted 17 May 2009 - 10:14 AM
Buddy Montgomery was also a nearly one man jazz scene in Milwaukee from 1969 until about 1981. He played all the time at the nicest rooms in the big hotels. You knew that there was one excellent jazz concert available in Milwaukee, always. Often he was the only major jazz artist playing in town for long periods of time.
He founded the Milwaukee Jazz Alliance, which provided performing opportunities for musicians and did a great deal of work with young musicians. His volunteer work for jazz and for young musicians in Milwaukee was remarkable.
He founded the Milwaukee Jazz Alliance, which provided performing opportunities for musicians and did a great deal of work with young musicians. His volunteer work for jazz and for young musicians in Milwaukee was remarkable.
#20
Big Al
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Posted 18 May 2009 - 02:16 PM
Blog entry about a Buddy Montgomery LP I've always enjoyed.
RIP Buddy. Hope the family reunion's a groovy one.
RIP Buddy. Hope the family reunion's a groovy one.
#21
GA Russell
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Posted 27 May 2009 - 05:08 PM
When I was a freshman in college, I got a Fantasy LP called Wes' Best, which was a compilation of two Montgomery Brothers albums. It still remains one of my favorite albums.
Here's his LA Times obit:
http://www.latimes.c...0,7402325.story
Jazz musician Charles 'Buddy' Montgomery dies at 79
David Royal / Associated Press Charles Montgomery began as a pianist but switched to the vibraphone after seeing Lionel Hampton. 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...
Here's his LA Times obit:
http://www.latimes.c...0,7402325.story
Jazz musician Charles 'Buddy' Montgomery dies at 79
David Royal / Associated Press Charles Montgomery began as a pianist but switched to the vibraphone after seeing Lionel Hampton. 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...
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