The great Tuck Andress on the Wes Montgomery style of guitar playing:
1.1.3 Wes Montogomery technique of down and up strokes with flesh of thumb (not actually a pick technique at all): This is like becoming a superhero: Everyone reads the comic, many buy the Superman outfit, but few actually end up using their super powers to save the human race. If one wears the outfit too long without saving humanity or at least flashing some super powers, one may begin to look a little silly.
Advantages: The sound and feel of flesh on strings are extremely satisfying.
Disadvantages: Getting a clear and consistent tone on upstrokes is virtually impossible, the stuff of superheroes. I kept working on this in parallel to all the picking techniques I tried, but I tried not to wear the outfit in public too much for fear of embarrassment.
Tuck has super powers. No worries there.
Watch this one to the end... the guy's the best.
Mm-hmm. That ringing/chiming and the energy it carries. Wonderful.
Still, hope not to give offense, but, I saw Wes Montgomery in a little theater club on South at Broad in South Philly in 1966 (Lou Rawls there too, and Roland Kirk in the bar at the corner), and I have several jazz guitarist friends who can be amazing, and I’ve seen/heard a lot of instantly recognizable Wes Montgomery-style playing; and this doesn’t fit the rhythmic pattern in my template. Am I really really wrong? For me the dexterity in chording, the left hand, defines the style as much as the right hand work. But I’m no musician and a little dull-witted, so…
no, you’re right. i don’t think Tuck is trying to do a Wes-style in this clip. it was simply one of the better clips of Tuck & Patti on YouTube. the quote is just something that i thought funny.
Hey, absolutely. A sweet treat, & thanks.