What can you say about Wes Montgomery (born John Leslie Montgomery in 1923) except that he’s a jazz genius who influenced everyone from jazz masters Kenny Burrell to George Benson to rock-blues virtuosos like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn and innumerable others in between. Although generally known for his octave style of playing the same two notes, one high and one low, in unison, he also played some great single-note runs, and all with his thumb. (Incidentally, he developed the technique of playing with his thumb as a matter of domestic necessity when he was working a day job as a machinist in Indianapolis, Indiana, and practicing guitar at night — the quieter sound from his thumb didn’t wake his wife up. Eventually Wes’s technique evolved to the point where he used one part of his thumb for softer chordings, and another part for more percussive effects.) Other guitarists like Django Reinhardt had explored octave playing, but Wes refined it into more than just an insert as part of an instrumental solo. Although he didn’t read music well, it’s said he could pick up anything after one hearing, even complicated passages. He died of a heart attack much too soon at the age of 45 in 1968; it’s a shame the general public only knows of him from his covering pop tunes such as “I Think I’m Going Out of My Head” and “Windy,” all which he supposedly did at the behest of his recording company. He was an incredible jazz guitarist who sounded best and most comfortable with a small ensemble, as these two videos attest, and his sound is so unique that Wes Montgomery’s guitar is easily identifiable, even by untrained ears.
To read more, here’s Wes Montgomery’s Wikipedia entry and his official website.