A rare one here of Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) recorded here by Granada TV in Manchester on the 30th September during the 66' American Folk Blues Festival on the 3rd night of the tour.
Little Brother was largely self-taught. He was also versatile, working in jazz bands, including larger ensembles that used written arrangements. He did not read music but learned band routines by ear.
'Bob Juke' kindly sent me a copy of the full 1966 Manchester show, Bob has a brilliant channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@bobjuke4216 it's an absolute must if you're into Blues & Jazz so subscribe!!!
I don't make anything colourising and putting these videos together so please support the channel with the link here if you can its greatly appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/bluesincolour
Roosevelt Sykes: Introduction
Little Brother Montgommery: Piano
Otis Rush: Guitar
Jack Myers: Bass
Fred Belows: Drums
Montgomery was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, United States, a sawmill town near the Mississippi border, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, where he spent much of his childhood. Both his parents were of African-American and Creek Indian ancestry. As a child he looked like his father, Harper Montgomery, and was called Little Brother Harper. The name evolved into Little Brother Montgomery, and the nickname stuck. He started playing piano at the age of 4. His main musical influence was Jelly Roll Morton, who used to visit the Montgomery household.
A notable influence on the likes of Sunnyland Slim and Otis Spann, pianist Little Brother Montgomery's lengthy career spanned both the earliest years of blues history and the electrified Chicago scene of the 1950s. By age 11, Montgomery had given up on school to play in Louisiana juke joints.
He then played with the bands of Clarence Desdunes and Buddy Petit. He came to Chicago as early as 1926 and made his first 78s in 1930 for Paramount, including two signature items, "Vicksburg Blues" and "No Special Rider," recorded in Grafton, WI. Bluebird recorded Montgomery more prolifically in 1935-1936 in New Orleans. He then lived in Chicago from 1928 to 1931, regularly playing at rent parties, and Chicago was where he made his first recordings. From 1931 through 1938, he led a jazz ensemble, the Southland Troubadours, in Jackson, Mississippi.
In 1941, Montgomery moved back to Chicago, which would be his home for the rest of his life, and went on tours to other cities in the United States and Europe. In 1942, he settled down to a life of steady club gigs in Chicago, his set alternating between blues and traditional jazz (he played Carnegie Hall with Kid Ory's Dixieland band in 1949).
He toured briefly with Otis Rush in 1956. In the late 1950s he was discovered by a wider white audience. Otis Rush benefited from his sensitive accompaniment on several of his 1957-1958 Cobra dates, while Buddy Guy recruited him for similar duties when he nailed Montgomery's "First Time I Met the Blues" in a supercharged revival for Chess in 1960. That same year, Montgomery cut a fine album for Bluesville with guitarist Lafayette "Thing" Thomas that remains one of his most satisfying sets.
With his second wife, Janet Floberg, Montgomery formed his own little record company, FM, in 1969 (FM stood for Floberg Montgomery, Floberg being the maiden name of his wife). The first 45 on the logo, fittingly enough, was a reprise of "Vicksburg Blues," with a vocal by Chicago chanteuse Jeanne Carroll (her daughter Karen followed in her footsteps around the Windy City).
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