With the new Alternative Guitar Summit Honoring Pat Martino Volume 1 out, Jason Sidwell asked four of the album’s artists to answer two questions about PAT MARTINO.
What made Pat Martino so unique for you?
OZ NOY: To me, Pat was one of the first fusion guitar pioneers that never quit and got the credit that he deserved for that. His band Joyce Lake was as groundbreaking as Mahavishnu, Return to Forever, Miles and Weather Report was. He had his own twist on mixing jazz and rock or in other words, electrifying jazz. He really pushed the envelope with jazz guitar since he started, developing modern inside out lines and harmonies. His technique and swing feel is amazing and the bigger thing for me was his tone. He had a jazz sound but it always sounded huge, bigger than life.
ADAM ROGERS: His brilliant musical conception, his beautiful and HUGE sound, incredible articulation, swing and his herculean technique that, combined with his fearless creative imagination, enabled him to play music the way he did.
SHERYL BAILEY: The rhythmic force behind his linear approach, his modern harmonic concepts, his tone, his articulation, his mastery as a composer, his philosophies on life and music, and his heart. He was a great guitarist, composer and life mentor via his discussions on music and creativity. His guitar playing influenced me as much as his outlook on the creative process. He was a source of positivity and peace in the world.
JOEL HARRISON: Everything: his tone, attack, phrasing, diversity of compositions, his life view, and his rhythm. He seemed endlessly curious about life and art. Very few people could burn 16th notes like he did and break your heart with a simple melody at the same time, or write a boppin’ blues and an epic finger-buster like Line Games. Lovely contrasts were everywhere.
Favourite album or track?
OZ NOY: Im’ actually going to choose a YouTube live performance of Pat playing Sunny with John Scofield. The groove of the band is so strong and Pat just sits on top of it so well. The thing that kills me with his performance is that he plays this one lick for over a minute, non-stop, and with that strong groove behind him he puts the whole band on fire! I was very influenced by this performance and the idea that you can really elevate the music by committing to just one lick for ages! It reminds me of James Brown’s band where they play the same thing for an hour but sounds the greatest. ADAM ROGERS: One of my favourites is his rendition of Benny Golson’s I Remember Clifford. His playing on it is so incredibly lyrical. It always sounded like an homage somehow. An amazing solo during which he plays a few dazzling, almost gestural, fast passages where he crescendos and decrescendos subtly. It’s really stunning and beautiful. A perfect example of using his extraordinary virtuosity to musical ends. He was a huge inspiration and influence on my playing.
SHERYL BAILEY: We’ll Be Together Again is without doubt a ‘desert island’ pick for me. The rapport between Gil Goldstein and Pat is breathtaking: the tempos, the statements of the melodies, the unity in expression between the two of them is the highest of arts.
JOEL HARRISON: Probably Consciousness only because it came at that formative period in my life when I was learning to play. Every tune is different. The solo on Impressions is mindblowing in its technical bravura, but so is Passata in a totally different way. Just take the title tune, a freaky jazz-rock psychedelic maze. This man was seeking infinity. He was a bebop mystic. I saw Joyous Lake performed live when it came out. Unforgettable.