3 Wes Montgomery ii-V-I Octave Lines


As a huge fan of Wes Montgomery’s playing, I’ve spent many years studying his single note and chord soloing ideas. 


But. 


One of the unique aspects of Wes’ playing was the intricate octave lines he played with ease at almost impossible speeds during his improvisations. 


I’ve had many questions recently about Wes’ octaves, so I’ve put together three ii V I Wes Octave Licks for you to explore in your playing. 


Check out these 3 phrases to add a Wes octave style to your next jazz guitar solo. 

ii V I Wes Octave Line 1


In this first line, Wes uses spacing to break up the line into smaller, easy to play chunks, as opposed to running streams of 8th notes. 


Breaking up longer lines keeps the listener guessing as to what’s coming next in your solos, while organizing your thoughts in those spaces. 


When first attempting to solo in a Wes octave style, leave as much space as possible. 


This will give you time to hear the next line in your solo and ease you into the technical side of playing octaves on guitar.

Wes Octaves 1 Audio

ii V I Wes Octave Line 1


In this first line, Wes uses spacing to break up the line into smaller, easy to play chunks, as opposed to running streams of 8th notes. 


Breaking up longer lines keeps the listener guessing as to what’s coming next in your solos, while organizing your thoughts in those spaces. 


When first attempting to solo in a Wes octave style, leave as much space as possible. 


This will give you time to hear the next line in your solo and ease you into the technical side of playing octaves on guitar.

Wes Octaves 2 Audio

ii V I Wes Octave Line 3


The final octave line focuses on a rhythmic motive that runs through the diatonic key of G major. 


Wes was a big fan rhythmic motives such as this one, and often applied rhythmic motives to his chord soloing, single note, and octave soloing phrases. 


Being able to solo with a rhythmic motive with your melodic and harmonic ideas is an effective way to connect your lines over longer sections of a solo.

Wes Octaves 2 Audio