Buddy Montgomery

Charles "Buddy" Montgomery (pianist and vibraphonist) was born on January 30, 1930, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the youngest brother of guitarist Wes Montgomery and acoustic bassist and Fender electric bass pioneer Monk Montgomery. Another brother, Thomas, a decade older than Buddy, was an excellent drummer who tragically passed away in 1938 from pneumonia. Buddy became serious about the piano at age 18, inspired by local pianists Earl Grandy and Carl Perkins. He was also influenced by Art Tatum, Bud Powell, and Erroll Garner. Buddy began playing professionally in 1948 and toured as a pianist with blues singer Big Joe Turner in 1949 and later with trombonist Slide Hampton. While serving in the Army, he led his own quartet.

From 1955 to 1957, he and his brothers performed with the Montgomery-Johnson Quintet, which included saxophonist Alonzo "Pookie" Johnson and drummer Robert "Sonny" Johnson (unlike the Montgomerys, the Johnsons were not related). In 1956, Buddy bought a set of vibes and started learning the instrument. It was around this time that he became interested in composing and arranging. Like his brothers, he didn't read music, so all arrangements had to be taught to the other musicians. In 1957, he joined Monk in Seattle, and together they formed The Mastersounds, a group in which Buddy played vibes and did the arranging. Buddy's wife, Louis Ann, came up with the group name. The quartet included Indianapolis-born drummer Benny Barth and pianist Rich Crabtree, originally from Montana but later based in Milwaukee, where he continued to be an active performer. The quartet lived together in a big house in Seattle for several months in 1957, rehearsing every day and playing in clubs at night. Later that year, The Mastersounds moved to San Francisco. They became a popular group, touring extensively and recording nine albums on World Pacific Records and two on Fantasy Records before disbanding in 1960. Buddy and the Mastersounds won awards in the DownBeat Critics Poll in the late 1950s.

In 1960, Buddy received a call from Miles Davis inviting him to join his band as a vibraphonist. At the time, the group included John Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Buddy didn’t immediately accept—he said he needed to check with his brothers first. After agreeing, he worked with Miles for several months and was scheduled to depart for Europe in March to join the Jazz at the Philharmonic tour. His name even appeared in printed programs for several venues, but he backed out at the last minute due to a fear of flying, so the quintet performed without him.  

Buddy performed and recorded with his brothers through most of the 1960s until June 15, 1968, when Wes unexpectedly died of a heart attack while they were on tour. Needless to say, this was a devastating event. In 1969, Buddy decided to move to Milwaukee to be with Rose Marie Curro, whom he had met there while on tour. Soon after relocating to Milwaukee, Buddy recorded an album in Chicago in September 1969 entitled This Rather Than That. Melvin Rhyne and Manty Ellis both performed on selected tracks.

Buddy performed around Milwaukee and, in 1972, began playing a nightly solo piano gig at the Bombay Bicycle Club, which was the lounge of the Marc Plaza Hotel (now the club lounge of the Hilton Milwaukee City Center). Buddy was getting bored playing solo and was about to quit when Erroll Garner, who was playing an extended run at the hotel, told Buddy he had heard that management would let him hire a trio. Buddy led groups at the Bombay Bicycle Club and the Pfister Hotel throughout the remainder of the decade. Among other personnel, his groups included bassist Jeff Chambers, drummer Sam Belton, percussionist Dumah Saafir, drummer Andy LoDuca, and drummer "Killer Ray" Appleton. Buddy left Milwaukee in the early 1980s to tend to his brother Monk in Las Vegas, who had cancer. Buddy’s musical influence on the Milwaukee jazz community during the 12 or so years he lived there was profound and is still felt today.

After Monk's passing in 1982, Buddy moved to California and lived in Oakland for most of the 1980s, where he continued to perform, compose, arrange, teach, and record. He performed solo and with a trio that included bassist Gerald Cannon at the Parker Meridien Hotel in New York City from 1989 to 1993 before moving back to California. He occasionally returned for performances in Milwaukee, including shows at Caroline's, The Estate, and Gathering on the Green in Mequon. Buddy died of a heart attack on May 14, 2009, in Palmdale, California, at the age of 79.

Listen to the Buddy Montgomery Trio perform “Hob Nob with Brother Bob,” a composition by Buddy, written as a tribute to Milwaukee drummer Bob Hobbs. This recording from July 21, 1997, features Buddy on piano, Jeff Chambers on bass, and “Killer” Ray Appleton on drums. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMymtROxv48