Martinez’s music was for family and joy
Most dads would punish their kids for getting into their work tools, but Jose Martinez encouraged it.
In fact, Martinez’s basement studio served as a playground for his children, full of his tools — guitars to strum, drums to beat and other instruments through which they explored the world of music, his son recalled.
“That house was always jamming,” said Stephen Martinez, who played with his family’s “Latin Express” band during the 1980s and '90s.
Funeral services were Wednesday for Jose Martinez, a founding member of the band that became a fixture at Latin dances, weddings and quinceañeras in Milwaukee.
Martinez died from cardiac arrest Nov. 22 in Milwaukee at age 67.
“He loved so much having people enjoy and dance to the music,” recalled Ken Herro, who played in the band The Devil’s Four with Martinez in the 1960s.
“It brought him joy.”
One of six children born to Mateo and Angelina Martinez, Jose Gilbert Martinez grew up on Milwaukee’s lower east side, attending Cass Street Elementary School and Lincoln High School.
During his high school years he played lead guitar with The Devil’s Four, performing teen standards of the day like “Hang on Sloopy,” “La Bamba” and “I Feel Good” at CYO dances.
“At first all the boys were lined up on one side of the gym and the girls on the other,” recalled lifelong friend Roberto Rivera.
“But when the Devils started playing James Brown, all our teenage inhibitions left and the dance floor was packed the rest of the night."
After high school, Martinez worked for a utility products company in Milwaukee while honing his musical skills.
“He worked his 9 to 5 during the week, but on weekends music was his job,” said Stephen Martinez, who played rhythm guitar with the Latin Express.
Martinez’s band included other family members: sons Alex on keyboards, Jose on drums, daughter Gina on vocals, and brothers Rudy on bass and Jesse on percussion.
In later years, Martinez’s wife, Lucina, and her sister, Tina Jimenez, joined the Latin Express on vocals as “The Latin Breeze.”
The group became widely known for its renditions of songs by Carlos Santana, R&B and Top 40 hits, as well as Latin music such as cumbias and rancheras, playing from street festivals to Mexican Fiesta.
The mix of family and music led to a lively household, Stephen Martinez recalled, with the sounds of “Black Magic Woman” emanating from the basement, and the aroma of chicken and molè wafting from the kitchen.
“Our house was never dull,” he said. Jose Martinez would later form a trio called Mariachi Loco, and for more than 18 years taught guitar for the United Community Center’s cultural arts program.
By promoting young Latino artists and coordinating musical concerts and art exhibitions at the UCC, Martinez helped lay the foundation of what today is the center’s thriving Latino Arts Inc.
A statement from the UCC describes Martinez as, “a hardworking advocate for the arts and a dear friend to many.”
But to Stephen Martinez, he was simply “Pops.”
“He taught us confidence," he said. “He’d tell us, ‘People are paying to hear us play, so we have to make sure we do our best.' ”
Jose Martinez was preceded in death by his wife, Lucina.