Biography
Eurreal Wilford Montgomery, 18 April 1906, Kentwood, Louisiana, USA, d. 6 September 1985, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Impressed by the piano players who visited his parents’ house, including Jelly Roll Morton and Cooney Vaughan, Montgomery began playing at the age of five. At the age of 11 he ran away, and worked as a musician for the rest of his life. He played the southern jukes and lumber camps as a solo blues pianist, singing in his unmistakable voice, nasal and with a strong vibrato, yet somehow pleading and wistful. With Friday Ford and Dehlco Robert he developed ‘The Forty-Fours’ into one of the most complex themes in the repertoire, calling his own version ‘Vicksburg Blues’. In the 20s, Montgomery played jazz in New Orleans with Clarence Desdune and toured Mississippi with Danny Barker; he also worked briefly with Buddy Petit, and on the blues side toured with Big Joe Williams. In 1928, Montgomery headed for Chicago, playing blues at...
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