NPR „Jazz Profiles“, Nancy Wilson: The Life and Music of Wes Montgomery
Bill Frisell:
„The first jazz record that I tried to listen to and learn something from was this Wes Montgomery album—a song called “Bumpin’ on Sunset.” I had to learn that for a high school talent show. The band director gave me the record to go home and listen to, and that was just an opening of the door into the world of jazz.“
in: Village Voice
Steve Kahn:
You can have multiple degrees in harmony and theory, be a tremendous reader, and have all kinds of technical skills, but in the end you have to hear something – especially in jazz. Wes heard something. For him, school was all the gigs he did in Indianapolis.
Quelle: Complete Riverside Recordings, Linernotes
Pat Metheny auf die Frage, welche Erlebnisse für ihn als Musiker prägend waren:
Ich war etwa zwölf Jahre alt. Ich hörte etwas von Miles Davis, ich glaube es war das Album „Four and more“. In diesem Moment hat sich wirklich etwas in meinem Leben verändert. Dann außerdem vielleicht noch das erste Konzert mit Wes Montgomery, das ich miterlebte — ungefähr zwei Jahre danach.
aus: Grand Guitars 5/2007
Bill Frisell:
When I was 16, I was listening to a lot of surfing music, a lot of English rock. Then I saw Wes Montgomery and somehow that kind of turned me around.
Quelle: BeyondChron