Wes Montgomery / Уэс Монтгомери
Topping our list of the best jazz guitarists of all time is a revered and profoundly influential Indianapolis fretboard genius who couldn’t read a note of music. Just using a calloused thumb to pick out notes, Montgomery was inspired by the bebop horn-like phrasing of his idol, Charlie Christian, but offered a more advanced harmonic style that incorporated block chords and the use of parallel octaves. He died too young, but his music and its influence lives on.