Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Buddy Montgomery was born Charles Montgomery on January 30, 1930 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the youngest of the Montgomery brothers. Learning to play piano and vibes he began his professional career in 1948 and would go on to play with Big Joe Turner the following year and then with Slide Hampton.

After a period in the Army, where he led his own quartet, he joined his brother Monk and formed the “Mastersounds” in the late 50’s and produced ten recordings. He would also lead the Montgomery-Johnson Quintet with Ray Johnson from 1957 – 59, and led his first recording session.

Buddy played briefly with Miles Davis but when the Mastersounds disbanded he and Monk joined brother Wes on number of “Montgomery Brothers” recordings, in which he arranged. They toured together in 1968, and it was in the middle of that tour that Wes died. In ’69 he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and taught music until his move to Oakland in the Eighties where he release solo material and played with the Riverside Reunion Band alongside Charlie Rouse, David “Fathead” Newman and Bobby Hutcherson.

Buddy Montgomery, vibraphonist and pianist, continued to compose, arrange, perform, produce, teach and record, producing fourteen recordings as a leader up until his death on May 14, 2009.

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