Hiss and Hum

Released in 1969, Monk Montgomery decided it was time for the bass guitar to come to the front of the ensemble and play the role of lead instrument on It's Never Too Late. Joined by a large ensemble formed around a core of Jazz Crusaders, Montgomery’s thick bass sound takes the listener through a journey of swing jazz, Philadelphia soul and African grooves.  

The album opens with Big Boy. A swinging 12-bar blues which sees Montgomery take a lengthy solo. Throughout the album, Montgomery’s bass sits right at the front of the mix. His bass tone is round and full. The combination of his right hand technique, flat wound strings and his regular use of legato techniques gives the instrument a fretless sound at times. He slides in and out of notes with ease. This may have been a way for him to emulate the sound of the upright bass which was one of his initial goals with the new instrument. The presence of synthesised bass allows Montgomery to leave space in his solo lines and let them breathe.  

Although this album, Monk’s debut as leader, has a strong roster of jazz musicians, many of the tracks are given a pop arrangement. Sunday Stroll is a straight-feel composition with a soulful core.  Montgomery plays the melody line over a light backing played by flutes and strings. There are no improvised solos. This follows the career trajectory of Monk’s younger brother Wes who went on to record a number of albums aimed at a wider market.  

Can We Talk To You? is a sunshine pop composition with a wholesome heart accentuated by the string arrangement. Montgomery adds a bluesy touch by bending notes as the piece moves in a funkier direction. This is followed by Your Love which is driven along by 16th note hi-hat patterns.  

A Place In The Sun opens with a short rendition of the melody on unaccompanied bass. Montgomery creates more legato effects by hammering on and pulling off notes. Throughout the album, the leader takes phrases and repeats them as a solo hook. They are often built around pentatonic scales, suiting the harmonically static material.

The slow moving melody of It’s Never Too Late is played in unison with the keyboard. A bass ostinato continues relentlessly underneath. Tension builds in the middle section as the ensemble crescendo through a passage of quavers. Montgomery begins to use double stops in his lines which brings another dimension to his improvisation.  

Arranged by trumpet player and record label owner Hugh Masakela, The Lady has a distinctive South African feel. This is another performance with a pop-like commercialism. Montgomery does include an occasional blues lick in his otherwise diatonic lines.  

The album features two jazz standard compositions. Montgomery plays the melody of Toots Thielman’s Bluesette. He continues into an improvised solo which contains more traditional jazz language than he uses elsewhere on the album. How High The Moon is given a slow grooving straight feel. The piece does burst out in to swing with Montgomery playing bass lines (a rarity on the album). Over this, the woodwind play the melody of Ornithology, Charlie Parker’s popular contrafact. This is the only piece on the album where anyone other than Montgomery is featured as a soloist. Even when playing an accompanying role, Montgomery’s bass remains at the front of the mix and he spends much of his time playing in the high register.  

It’s Never Too Late would set the trajectory of Montgomery’s solo output for the next few years. The double bass had been used as a featured instrument in jazz music. Most notably on Paul Chambers’ Blue Note album Bass On Top. Using the bass guitar in this manner was unusual at the time and would preempt Jaco Pastorius’ more famous example by 6 years.  

John Marley

Released in 1971, Monk Montgomery’s second album as leader took him in new directions. On Bass Odyssey, the electric bass pioneer sat on top of the mix and came to the fore as both performer and composer. Joined by members of The Crusaders, the band created a fuzz-laden, groove heavy trip into the world of jazz psychedelia. 

Journey To The Bottom is an appropriate title for a track with two bass players. Double bassist Andy Simpkins steadies the band from the bottom up while Montgomery takes the lead. The harmony is predominantly static although it briefly moves through a chord cycle which is emphasised by Montgomery’s melodic outlining. A riff-like melody is the focal point of this, and many of the compositions on the album. Montgomery’s solo becomes increasingly frantic as he utilises his pick to produce explosive flurries. Drama builds behind him which is essential when the solos are created over static tonality. Due to the sound of the Fender bass with flat wound strings, the use of double stops doesn't bring a great deal of colour to the sound. It brings a heaviness and a subtle rhythmic impact. Joe Sample’s electric piano solo uses motivic development and off-beat stabbing to keep the energy levels high. 

Personage is a relaxed bossa nova with longer and more fluid lines from the leader. The piece is spacious as Montgomery is the only bass player and spends much of the performance playing the lead role. He draws a singing quality from his bass by sliding from position to position. His use of legato gives the Fender bass a melodic quality which it wasn’t associated with up to this point. The whole performance is a showcase for Montgomery’s lead playing. His solo lines are predominantly diatonic to the key although he does adopt chromaticism and uses the blues scale on moments of minor harmony. The band bring the piece to a close with a cross rhythm, playing powerful hits grouped in threes. 

Montgomery plays a soulful melody over the descending chord sequence of Sister Lena. Beautiful in its simplicity, drummer Nesbert Hooper drives the groove along. He catches rhythmic hits in the melody and fills musical breaks with gentle rolls around the toms. The beat itself is a simple soul rhythm, where tasteful embellishment attracts the ear to the performance. 

On Fuselage, Pt. 1, Montgomery uses a fuzz tone on the bass to play a four note melodic riff. The ensemble sit on a forceful minor groove that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Led Zeppelin album. The riff is broken up by a suspended chord which builds the tension before the release back into the main groove. Fuselage, Pt. 2 has a more experimental edge. A wall of distorted sound is created by the onslaught of frantic, fuzzed out bass exploration. Rather than being a frame for solo improvisation, the composition remains a rock-influenced infectious groove. 

Foxy Gypsy opens with a solo bass cadenza over a backdrop of colourful percussion and spacious electric piano. Montgomery’s use of harmonic minor trilling evokes Eastern images. When the four chord minor groove begins, Montgomery takes an extended solo. He continues to use legato techniques as well as double stops and extended rhythmic development. Another cadenza concludes proceedings with the leader sliding emphatically up and down the neck. 

Monk Montgomery continued to play more traditional forms of jazz and helped to encourage its performance through the Las Vegas Jazz Society. However, he was not afraid to experiment with his instrument, fusing jazz harmony with rock riffing, funk grooves and soulful melodies. Bass Odyssey was a large step forward for Montgomery as a unique but sadly overlooked voice on the bass guitar. 

John Marley

The Montgomery family name is well established in jazz history due to the musical accomplishments of Wes, perhaps the most influential jazz guitarist of his era. Yet the legacy of the Montgomery name stretches further. Buddy Montgomery, one of Wes’ brothers, was an accomplished pianist and vibraphonist who recorded with Johnny Griffin, George Shearing and Charlie Rouse.   

The name of Monk Montgomery may be unfamiliar to many jazz fans, yet his story is fascinating though largely untold. Monk was the first to hand his younger brother Wes a guitar when he was approximately 11 years old. Monk himself did not take up the double bass until he was in his mid-twenties, almost unheard of for such a proficient jazz musician. After practicing for a couple of years, Monk found himself in the orchestra of Lionel Hampton.   

It was Hampton who first encouraged Monk to switch to the new electric bass which was made popular by instrument maker Leo Fender. Monk told Guitar Player Magazine “Hamp handed me the Fender and told me he wanted the electric instrument sound in the band. The electric bass was considered a bastard Instrument. Conventional bass players despised it. It was new and a threat to what they new…At first I freaked out, because I was in love with my upright bass…(but) I made up my mind to do it and did it well”    

Monk Montgomery was not only one of the first to tour with the new Fender Precision bass, but he is believed by many to be the first to record with the instrument. The record date took place on July 2nd 1953 and was released as Work Of Art by The Art Farmer Septet. All of the musicians on the date (aside from drummer Sonny Johnson) were members of Hampton’s orchestra. On this recording, Montgomery successfully eased the new instrument into jazz by emulating the sound of the double bass. Playing the instrument with his thumb, Monk produced a warm round tone which suited the cool swing and latin groove based compositions on the album.   

Being one of the first musicians to adopt the Fender bass, Monk had no influences on the instrument. This allowed him to adapt his style throughout his career. Although the use of the thumb produces an appealing sound, it can be technically limiting. Monk dealt with this problem by creating his own plectrums made of felt. This allowed a greater playing speed while maintaining the soft attack.   

Monk Montgomery would continue to have an extensive career as a sideman and bandleader, recording with his brothers, Hampton Hawes, Hugh Masekela and Kenny Burrell amongst others. Yet he continued to break new ground on a series of albums released under his own name. His first solo album entitled It’s Never Too Late was released in 1969 and features members of The Crusaders. On the album, Monk plays a style of lead bass guitar which wouldn’t achieve widespread acceptance until Jaco Pastorius burst on to the scene some 6 years later.   

Monk Montgomery came into his own as a leader on his 1971 release Bass Odyssey. Not only does he continue his vision of a lead bass sound, but he develops it even further, introducing fuzz effects and tremolo picking. The album also features double bassists Andy Simpkins & Kent Brinkley, allowing Monk to focus on his role at the forefront of the ensemble. The music is infectious soul jazz with a notable contribution from keyboard player Joe Sample. The record, like most of Monk’s solo output, remains out of print.   

Monk Montgomery’s influence in jazz should not be underestimated. Not only did he introduce the Fender Bass to the genre, but he gave it a unique and credible voice through his sensitive accompaniments and memorable solo albums. He was also an early pioneer of playing the instrument with a plectrum, a style of playing which is still rare amongst jazz bassists (Steve Swallow and Carol Kaye being two other notable plectrum users).   

Despite this, Monk Montgomery remains largely unknown and unmentioned not just in jazz circles but also in the world of bass guitar. Many of his albums are out of print, as is his in-depth and extensive 1978 bass tuition book. In the internet age, Monk Montgomery’s playing may not contain enough fireworks to be featured on bass guitar websites but his legacy deserves acknowledgement and his music deserves to be re-examined in the modern age.   

John Marley.