Monk Montgomery

Monk Montgomery
Birth name	William Howard Montgomery
Born	October 10, 1921(1921-10-10) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Died	May 20, 1982(1982-05-20) (aged 60) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Bassist
Instruments	Bass guitar, double bass
Labels	MoJazz, Chisa, Philadelphia International
Associated acts	Wes Montgomery, Lionel Hampton, Cal Tjader, Red Norvo

William Howard "Monk" Montgomery (October 10, 1921 – May 20, 1982) was an American jazz bassist.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Montgomery was the older brother of guitarist Wes Montgomery; younger brother, Buddy Montgomery played vibraphone and piano. The brothers released a number of albums together as the Montgomery Brothers.^[1]

Biography

He is perhaps the first electric bassist of significance to jazz, introducing the Fender Precision Bass to the genre in 1951. Montgomery also played the double bass. His professional career did not start until after his younger brother Wes, at the age of 30. From 1951 to 1953 he worked in Lionel Hampton's Orchestra. After that he worked with his brothers and Alonzo Johnson in the Montgomery Johnson Quintet. In 1955 he moved to Seattle to form the Mastersounds from 1957–1960. Later from 1966–1970, he freelanced with Cal Tjader and continued to play where he settled in Las Vegas, Nevada with The Red Norvo Trio. In his final years he was active in the Las Vegas Jazz Society, which he founded. He had also been planning a world jazz festival.

Montgomery died of cancer in Las Vegas on May 20, 1982. He had a wife, Amelia, three sons, and four stepchildren.

Discography

• It's Never Too Late (1969), MoJazz
• Bass Odyssey (1971), Chisa
• Reality (1974), Philadelphia International

References

1. ^ Allmusic biography

External links

• "William (Monk) Montgomery, Bass Player With Hampton". The New York Times. May 22, 1982. Retrieved on May 5, 2008.

Persondata
Name	Montgomery, Monk
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 10, 1921
Place of birth
Date of death	May 20, 1982
Place of death