UPDATE:Press Release from Yoshi's: Pat Martino Shows At Yoshi's Cancelled:
"Due to injury, the Pat Martino shows scheduled to play at Yoshi's in Oakland this Thursday, February 8th to Sunday, February 11th have been cancelled. Refunds are available at place of purchase. There are no performances scheduled to replace these shows. Our restaurant and bar will be open for dinner and happy hour as usual." On February 8th through the 11th Pat Martino will appear at Yohi's at Jack London Square in Oakland California Pat began playing professionally in 1961. He has performed with a wide variety of artists including Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Richard Groove Holmes, John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Chick Corea, Jack McDuff, Don Patterson, Stanley Clark, Eric Kloss, Trudy Pitts, Woody Herman, Chuck Israels, Charles Earland. Since 1967, Pat has been touring as a leader and often pays tribute to Wes Montgomery who inspired him.
 Pat Martino © Jimmy Katz
After Django and Charlie Christian before him, Wes Montgomery is one of the most influential jazz guitarists for those who followed. Wes had an instinctive knowledge of jazz harmony and an incredible facility for playing the guitar. Although Montgomery was widely known for his inovative use of octaves, he was also an excellent single-line player, and was influential in the use of block chords in his solos. Wes also help refine the sound of the jazz organ trio in his work with organist Mel Rhyne. His early works on Riverside records are some of the finest jazz guitar recordings available. Pat went on to greater commercial sucess with more commercial music with A&M records in the late 60s.
Wes Montgomery's music, particularly the album Grooveyard, is said to have had an enormous influence on guitarist Pat Martino. Born Pat Azzara in Philadelphia in 1944, he was first exposed to jazz through his father, Carmen "Mickey" Azzara, who sang and briefly studied guitar with Eddie Lang. Pat began playing guitar when he was twelve years old and left school in tenth grade to devote himself to music. While taking lessons from Dennis Sandole in Philadelphia, Pat met another student of his, John Coltrane.
Martino's first road tour was with jazz organist Charles Earland, a high school friend. Martino moved to Harlem to devote himself to "soul jazz" as played by Earland and others. The organ trio concept had a profound influence on Martino's rhythmic and harmonic approach, and he remained in the idiom gigging with Jack McDuff and Don Patterson. Pat was signed as a leader to Prestige Records when he was twenty.
In 1976 Martino became ill and eventually underwent surgery as the result of a brain aneurysm. The surgery left him with amnesia, without any memory of the guitar and his musical career. With the help of friends and his old recordings, Pat made a remarkable recovery and learned to play all over again. He resumed his career in 1987 in New York, a gig that was released on a CD with an appropriate name, The Return. Jazz Week reported in December that Martino's latest release, a tribute to Wes Montgomery entitled Remember, was the #1 played jazz recording in 2006, with over 6,600 radio spins.
Catch Pat Martino and crew on February 8th-11th at Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West in Oakland.For tickets and other information, visit www.yoshis.com
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Saturday, 05 July 2008
