Charles "Buddy" Montgomery (January 30, 1930 – May 14, 2009) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

vibraphonist and pianist. He was the younger brother of Wes and

Monk Montgomery William Howard "Monk" Montgomery (October 10, 1921 – May 20, 1982) was an American jazz bassist. He was a pioneer of the electric bass guitar and possibly the first to be recorded playing the instrument when he participated in a 1953 session r ...

, a guitarist and bassist respectively. Buddy and brother Monk formed The Mastersounds in the late 1950s and produced ten recordings. When The Mastersounds disbanded, Monk and Buddy joined their brother Wes on a number of

Montgomery Brothers The Montgomery Brothers were a jazz trio consisting of the brothers Wes Montgomery (electric guitar, 1923–1968), Buddy Montgomery (piano, vibraphone, 1930–2009), and Monk Montgomery (electric bass, double bass, 1921–1982). During the mi ...

recordings, which were mostly arranged by Buddy. They toured together in 1968, and it was in the middle of that tour that Wes died. Buddy continued to compose, arrange, perform, produce, teach and record, producing nine recordings as a leader.

Biography

Buddy first played professionally in 1948; in 1949 he played with

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

and soon afterwards with

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...

. After a period in the Army, where he had his own quartet, he joined The Mastersounds as a vibraphonist with his brother Monk, pianist Richie Crabtree and drummer Benny Barth in 1957. He led the "Montgomery-Johnson Quintet" with saxophonist Alonzo "Pookie" Johnson from 1955 to 1957. Montgomery's earliest sessions as a leader are from the late 1950s. He played briefly with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

in 1960. After Wes Montgomery's death in 1968, Buddy became active as a jazz educator and advocate. He founded organizations in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, where he lived from 1969 to 1982, and

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he lived for most of the 1980s, that offered jazz classes and presented free concerts. He died in Palmdale, California, of a heart attack, aged 79.

Discography

The Mastersounds

* ''Jazz Showcase'' (World Pacific, 1957) * ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'' (World Pacific, 1957) * '' Kismet'' (World Pacific, 1958) with Wes Montgomery * ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...

'' (World Pacific, 1958) * '' Ballads & Blues'' (World Pacific, 1959) * '' The Mastersounds in Concert'' (World Pacific, 1959) * '' Happy Holidays from Many Lands'' (World Pacific, 1959) * '' The Mastersounds Play Horace Silver'' (World Pacific, 1960) * '' Swinging with the Mastersounds'' (Fantasy, 1961) * ''The Mastersounds on Tour'' (1961) * ''A Date with The Mastersounds'' (Fantasy, 1961)

Buddy Montgomery

* ''The Two-Sided Album'' (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

, 1968) * '' This Rather Than That'' ( Impulse!, 1969) * ''Ties'' (Bean, 1977) * '' Ties of Love'' (

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

, 1986) * '' So Why Not?'' (Landmark, 1988) * '' Live at Maybeck Recital Hall'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1991) * ''Here Again'' (Sharp Nine, 1997) * ''Icebreaker'' (Staalplaat, 2001) * ''A Love Affair in Paris'' (Space Time, 2002) * ''A Day in the Life'' (

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which distributes music, films, home video, and video games. It is affiliated with the Japanese media group Fujisankei Communications Group. Pony Canyo ...

, 2006)

As sideman

The Montgomery Brothers ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

and Five Others (Pacific Jazz 1957) *

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 ...

: ''Wes & Friends'' (Milestone, 1961) *

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing (13 August 191914 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 so ...

with the Montgomery Brothers: '' George Shearing and the Montgomery Brothers'' (Jazzland, 1961) * Roy Harte &

Milt Holland Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian perc ...

- ''Perfect Percussion: The 44 Instruments of Roy Harte & Milt Holland'', ( World-Pacific Records, 1961) *

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

: '' Do Nothing 'til You Hear from Me'' (Riverside, 1963) *

Charlie Rouse Charlie Rouse (April 6, 1924 – November 30, 1988) was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with Thelonious Monk, which lasted for more than ten years. Biography Rouse was born in Wash ...

: '' Epistrophy'' (Landmark, 1988) *

Bobby Hutcherson Robert Hutcherson (January 27, 1941 – August 15, 2016) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note Records, Blue Note album ''Components (album), Components'', is one of his best-known composi ...

: '' Cruisin' the 'Bird'' (Landmark, 1988) * David Fathead Newman: '' Blue Head'' ( Candid, 1990) Live, with

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player and composer. Originally from Chicago, Jordan later moved to New York City, where he recorded extensively in addition to touring across ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Buddy 1930 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists American jazz pianists American jazz vibraphonists American male jazz pianists Fantasy Records artists Impulse! Records artists Landmark Records artists Montgomery Brothers members Musicians from Indianapolis