Lamont “Monty” Savory

  Composer, Songwriter, Arranger; C-sharp’s easy-going guitarist, Monty as he is called, was born in Kingston Jamaica but spent most of his childhood in Port Maria St. Mary with his grandmother. At the age of eight Monty developed his unwavering interest and passion for the guitar after seeing Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” video. He would fashion his own guitar out of a sardine can, a piece of board and an elastic band. This resourcefulness continued until Monty discovered that his uncle owned a guitar. He would stop at his uncle’s house after church every Sunday to hear him play the G-Major scale which at the time rendered his uncle the greatest guitarist that he had ever heard.

   As time went by Monty returned to Kingston and started.

Camperdown High School where he got his first real guitar lesson from his 9th grade music teacher. He learnt the C and G Major Scales along with three chords; C, F and G- Major. At the time that was enough for him and he would learn as many songs as he could find with those three chords, incidentally “Redemption Song” was the first, despite the fact that all he could play at the time was the intro. This continued throughout high school and upon graduation Monty decided that he wanted to learn more about the guitar and auditioned for the CLAJ (Caribbean Latin American Jazz) Program at the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts where he later met the other members of the band. Surprisingly to him he got accepted into the program. He thought himself a poor guitarist and was extremely surprised and elated that he had been chosen. This belief led him to spend endless hours perfecting his craft with the guitar that had once belonged to his uncle. This once revered musical instrument became a constant source of ridicule between his classmates and guitar tutor who nicknamed his guitar the “guitola” because the strings were so high that it looked like a cross between a guitar and a viola. Financial constraints however forced Monty to take a year leave of absence from school during which time he bought his first electric guitar. The time off allowed for him an opportunity to practice and to realize that music was his true passion and calling. He got his first tour with Area Youth which later on opened many other avenues for him including working with:

Tony Rebel
Queen Ifrica
Ibo Cooper of Third World
Abijah
Luciano
The I-Threes
Chakademus and Pliers
Toots Hibbert
Damion “Jr. Gong” Marley
Natty King
Rita Marley
To Isis

Monty has toured numerous locations worldwide including:

Denmark
Bahamas
Italy
Sweden
Miami
Germany
France
Suriname
Cuba
Ghana
Belgium
Bristol
Wales
Holland
Bristow
Jacksonville
Barbados
Brussels
Haiti
Hungary


 These days Monty is seldom seen without his guitar and when at home he is always practicing and composing. When asked where he sees himself in the future he responds: “making more music and perfecting the art. It only gets better from here.”