3 Wes Montgomery Blues Lines


Wes Montgomery was a master of both soloing over the blues and adding a blues flavor to any tune he was playing. 


To help you add that Wes blues flavor to your solos, I’ve put together three lines that represent different Wes blues soloing concepts. 


Learn these lines, explore the concepts behind them, and apply both the phrases and concepts to your own solos to bring a Wes vibe to your playing. 

Wes Montgomery Blues Line 1 - Minor Blues


The first line uses the G minor blues scale over a G7 chord, as you would see in the first four bars of a jazz blues progression. 


Playing the minor blues scale over a blues progression is common in rock, blues and country music. 


Here, you hear how Wes “jazzes” up the scale by adding slides and repetition to effectively use the minor blues scale in a jazz context. 

Wes Blues Audio 1

Wes Montgomery Blues Line 2 - Major Blues


Wes was also a big fan of adding the major blues scale to his phrases. 


Here’s an example of how you can add the major blues scale to a ii V I progression when bringing a Wes vibe to your solos. 


Sliding from the b3 to 3, as you see here with Ab-A in the last two bars of the phrase, is an effective way to bring a blues sound to major key progressions. 


Whenever you solo over any ii-V-I, add in the b3 blues note to bring a blues sound to that phrase in a typical Wes style.

Wes Blues Audio 2

Wes Montgomery Blues Line 3 - Arpeggios


The last approach you look at is adding blues notes to arpeggio shapes. 


Here, the major third, E, is replaced by the blues note Eb, and later the two are combined, Eb-E, as you mix in this blues note into a C7 arpeggio. 


Adding blues notes to arpeggios bring a blues feel to your phrases in the style of Wes Montgomery over any dominant 7th chord in your solos.

Wes Blues Audio 3

Practicing Wes Montgomery Blues Lines


Here are five exercises that I use to internalize these, or any, lines when I practice them in the woodshed. 


1. Solo over a blues progression using major and minor blues scales over each chord. 


2. Solo over a ii V I and use the major blues scale over the V7 and Imaj7 chords as you saw in the second lick above. 


3. Write five lines using major blues, minor blues, and blues arpeggios. 


4. Solo over a jazz standard and apply the lines from this lesson to your solo.


5. Comp a jazz blues progression and sing a solo using only the minor blues, then major blues, then blues arpeggios in your vocal lines. 


By studying Wes’ approach to applying minor blues, major blues, and blues arpeggios, you bring Wes’ sophisticated blues sound to your own jazz solos.