Monty Budwig

Biography
Articles

A very valuable bassist who on the West Coast was part of a countless number of recordings sessions, Monty Budwig could always be relied upon to swing a band, take melodic solos and play the perfect note for the right situation while being content to remain in the background.

Budwig played bass while in high school, gigged with Vido Musso in 1951 and then spent three years in the Air Force during which he had the opportunity to play in a military band. In 1954 he moved to Los Angeles where he eventually became a fixture in the studios and was greatly in demand for West Coast-style jazz groups.

Among Budwig's many musical experiences were playing with Barney Kessel, the Red Norvo Trio (1954-55), Zoot Sims, Woody Herman's Orchestra (1955-56), Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers, Terry Gibbs, Benny Goodman, Carmen McRae, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, the Lighthouse All Stars in the 1980's and Ellyn Rucker.

Although he appeared on many records (including a few dozen for the Concord label in the 1970's and 80's), Monty Budwig only led one record date of his own, 1978's Dig (for Concord) which included his wife Arlette McCoy on electric piano. Source: Scott Yanow

Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete: From All Sides

Read "From All Sides" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan

by C. Andrew Hovan
March 11, 2026

When it comes to West Coast jazz of the highest order, Lester Koenig's Contemporary label set the standard, although Fantasy Records would also carve its own niche. Founded by the Weiss Brothers in 1949, Fantasy would be the home to two early jazz crossover artists, Dave Brubeck and Vince Guaraldi. With a taste for multiple genres, the label also documented the work of comedian Lenny Bruce and the country rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival. The latter group actually earned ...

Album Review

Shelly Manne: Jazz from the Pacific Northwest

Read "Jazz from the Pacific Northwest" reviewed by Stefano Merighi

by Stefano Merighi
April 25, 2025

I luoghi comuni sono vacui ma spesso azzeccano un frammento di sincerità. Dire che il jazz californiano anni '50 annacqua e depotenzia la forza afroamericana di questa musica è riduttivo, certo, ma indiscutibile almeno in certe sue declinazioni. È il caso di queste registrazioni del quintetto di Shelly Manne, frutto del concerto al festival di Monterey del 1958, recuperate e pubblicate dalla Real to Real, in un doppio CD che contiene anche alcuni brani di otto anni dopo, ...

Album Review

Shelly Manne & His Men: Jazz From The Pacific Northwest

Read "Jazz From The Pacific Northwest" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
April 11, 2024

Shelly Manne & His Men are presented in two iterations in never-before-released live recordings from the 1958 Monterey Jazz Festival and from a 1966 date at The Penthouse in Seattle entitled Jazz From The Pacific Northwest. In this deluxe limited edition 180-gram 2LP set, co-produced for release by the estimable Zev Feldman and Cory Weeds, the band captivated the audience with intricate melodies and vibrant improvisations driven by Manne's virtuosic drumming. The band on LP1 from ...

Reassessing

Shelly Manne and His Men at the Black Hawk 1

by Richard J Salvucci
March 4, 2024

For many years, but certainly for most of the '50s and '60s, the top jazz drummer--by public opinion--was Shelly Manne. Although he was typically associated with West Coast Jazz, (a term he disliked), Manne had come West from New York City in the '50s and settled in Los Angeles in the halcyon days of the post-war boom. He was a guy of many parts; he raised horses, had married an ex-Rockette, and become part-owner of what was to become the ...

Album Review

Vince Guaraldi: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Music from the Soundtrack

Read "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Music from the Soundtrack" reviewed by Mark Sullivan

by Mark Sullivan
November 25, 2022

The 2018 release of this 1966 animated television special soundtrack made the music available for the first time. Pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi led a sextet (rather than his usual trio), resulting in richer-sounding, more complex arrangements. This is arguably the best expression of classic Peanuts music. But since the session tapes could not be found, the producers were forced to use the film soundtrack as the audio source. So, the recording quality was less than optimal, and some cues included sound ...

Album Review

Vince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Read "A Charlie Brown Christmas" reviewed by Marc Davis

by Marc Davis
December 19, 2015

A Charlie Brown Christmas is the corniest jazz-Christmas album ever made. And that's OK. It's even good. I know the dig. What Vince Guaraldi played wasn't jazz, it was lounge music. It was sentimental. It was lightweight. It was sappy. Yep. All of that. So what? Christmas time is about memories. That's what the smells, the sights, the tastes and the music are about. Some are family memories, some are communal memories. A Charlie Brown Christmas ...

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Album Review

Vince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Read "A Charlie Brown Christmas" reviewed by Robert Gilbert

by Robert Gilbert
December 2, 2003

Only a handful of jazz albums find their way into the collections of music lovers who would never call themselves jazz fans. Miles Davis' Kind of Blue is one, Getz/Gilberto is another, and Coltrane's A Love Supreme also comes to mind. For Christmas time, though, the album is Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to the 1965 special A Charlie Brown Christmas.A beloved (and rightly so) half-hour parable about the meaning of the holidays featuring the Peanuts gang, Guaraldi's music plays ...