![]() ![]() Players with international names and reputations that Bob should have been working with much more often, but such is the fickle nature of the Jazz-world.īob Martin (right) with Trevor Tomkins and Steve Fishwick in Isleworth. Performance highlights include a ‘pick up rhythm section’ gig in Italy which happened to have Dado Moroni on piano, and a Ronnie Scott’s Late Show with Tardo Hammer on piano. It was a powerful educational approach as I always went home inspired and ready to practise whatever it was that I didn’t have together yet. He could be hard…calling fast tempos, selecting difficult tunes such as Pensativa and Repetition, and insisting on playing tunes I didn’t yet know (one time I was sitting in with Bob with Clifford Jarvis on drums he insisted on playing Along Came Betty despite me not knowing it! A difficult tune almost impossible to fake if you haven’t studied it!). There was a tough love approach to his mentorship. Bob eventually started booking me for his quintet, and I learned a great deal from his instruction, but mostly from standing next to him, hearing him play, and having to try and play up to his level. I’d also go and sit in with his quartet often when he had a gig. Our paths kept crossing somehow and we ended up doing many gigs together with Frank Griffith’s Nonet and tours of France with the Glenn Miller Memorial Orchestra. Photo by Alain Cerruti courtesy of Yvonne Martin But Bob was very gracious, and I went home inspired by what I’d heard coming from his saxophone and his kind words of encouragement.īob Martin. This was all very intimidating, as my own playing had a long way to go and I was very green, still trying to get established on the London scene and learn my craft. It was immediately evident that here was a musician who had lived the life and learned his craft by playing with and listening to the masters of the music. Huge sound, amazing time feel, and an incredibly fluent bebop vocabulary steeped in the tradition of all his influences. But most authentic of all was his playing. None of this seemed remotely put on or fake (in fact, he hated any kind of inauthenticity and seemed almost allergic to it). He called fellow musicians “Cuz” (short for “cousin”), and my personal favourite was calling common non-musical things “Bb” as in:” It’s just a regular, Bb car” or similar. He was steeped in the Jazz culture, his conversation peppered with phrases like “Straight Ahead” and “Solid!”. I went to the recording session and wasn’t disappointed! Bob was everything he was reported to be and more. James Scannel had recommended me for Gordon Wellard’s septet and had enthusiastically told me about this American Alto player who was “the real deal” and was now living in London. I met Bob shortly after finishing my studies at The Royal Academy of Music in 1998. In the mid-90s he met his wife Yvonne, who has links to Hong Kong and the UK, and they decided to relocate to London in 1997. During this period Bob satisfied his musical needs by playing jazz at The Ortlieb House of Jazz in Philadelphia with the Shirley Scott Trio, or at Zanzibar Blue with his brother Doug Martin, who is an excellent drummer. During his time with Young, the orchestra performed with an impressive array of stars including Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Tony Bennet, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Sammy Davis Junior, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight. He joined the Bob Young Orchestra in Atlantic City in 1976, staying until 1992. He also worked with bands led by Al Porcino and Bill Hardman. He joined again for a second stint between 1975-76. It was whilst in Boston that Bob became enamoured with the sounds of Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Jackie Mclean, Cannonball Adderley, Phil Woods, and his former teacher Gene Quill.īob joined Buddy Rich’s Big Band in 1970, staying until 1972. Whilst in Boston he studied with Jimmy Mosher and Joe Viola. ![]() ![]() After graduating, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston between 19. He started playing the Alto Saxophone whilst he was in high school, beginning his studies with the great and under-rated Gene Quill. ![]() Join the mailing list for a weekly roundup of Jazz News.īob Martin was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey USA. Not yet a subscriber of our Wednesday Breakfast Headlines? ![]()
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