Using octaves

We all have Wes Montgomery to thank for popularising one of the most iconic sounds in jazz. Arranging intelligent and hip melodic lines doubled in octaves, perhaps brushed with the thumb, creates a romantic and expressive sound that you’ll undoubtedly want to add to your improvisational and compositional repertoire. For what is essentially such a simple device, the sonic rewards are huge, giving you access to an almost three-dimensional sonic idea that gives projection, drive and sophistication.

Wes would often begin a solo with single-note lines before making the transition to octaves, frequently stretching out over a number of choruses. To thicken the sound even further and to bring his solo to a peak he would then often switch to block chords, a topic we will return to in due course.

Given that Montgomery’s sound set