Posted on 06/02/2009 2:57:46 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The pianist and vibraphonist was one of the Montgomery Brothers. His siblings included well-known guitarist Wes and electric bassist Monk.
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
My favorite Mastersounds album is “Play the Music of Horace Silver.” Good article here:
Wes was The Man!!!
The most productive thumb in history.
RIP.
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