Pat Martino -

Pat Martino (1944–2021) was an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. He first recorded behind saxophonist Willis Jackson on multiple mid-Sixties titles on Prestige Records, which issued his first five solo albums between 1967 and 1970.

After his 1972 Cobblestone release The Visit!, Martino cut two albums for Muse Records and switched from post-bop to jazz rock on the 1976 albums Starbright and Joyous Lake, both on Warner Bros.

Muse issued the 1977 title Exit, Martino’s last before a 1980 seizure that left him with amnesia. Through study of his old records, Martino regained his guitar skills and resumed his output with the 1987 Muse release The Return.

Background

He was born Patrick Carmen Azzara on August 25, 1944, in Philadelphia. His father, Carmen “Mickey” Azzara, was a local jazz singer. Pat studied guitar under music arranger/educator Dennis Sandole, an earlier mentor of John Coltrane. At 15, Pat moved to New York City, where he roomed with Les Paul and became a house guitarist at Smalls Paradise, a storied hub of Harlem’s Renaissance.

As Pat Azzara, he earned his first recorded credits behind Willis Jackson on the saxist’s 1963/64 Prestige titles The Good Life, Grease ‘N’ Gravy, More Gravy, Boss Shoutin’, and Jackson’s Action! Amid further Jackson credits, Martino played on 1965/66 Prestige titles by Don Patterson, Trudy Pitts, Richard “Groove” Holmes, and Brother Jack McDuff.

El Hombre

Pat Martino released his debut album, El Hombre, in 1967 on Prestige.

Martino drives the session with fast single-note lines, clipped blues phrases, and long choruses that sit close to the front of the ensemble. Organist Trudy Pitts spreads a thick harmonic bed under the guitar, flutist Danny Turner threads short replies through the heads, and drummer Mitch Fine locks the date to a firm swing pulse while Vance Anderson and Abdu Johnson add hand percussion that roughens the surface.

“Waltz for Geri” opens with an extended Martino statement that runs nearly the full length of the piece. “Once I Loved” drops into a Latin current with octave-led phrasing over organ and percussion. “El Hombre” sets guitar and flute in tandem above a repetitive rhythmic figure. “A Blues for Mickey-O” pares the harmony to a blues chassis and lets Martino build from terse repeated figures toward longer runs, while “Just Friends” closes the album with a quicker swing line.

A1. “Waltz for Geri” (6:21) — Martino
A2. “Once I Loved” (5:42) — Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Ray Gilbert
A3. “El Hombre” (5:57) — Martino
A4. “Cisco” (4:29) — Martino

B1. “One for Rose” (4:54) — Martino
B2. “A Blues for Mickey-O” (8:02) — Martino
B3. “Just Friends” (5:47) — John Klenner, Sam M. Lewis

Pat Martino recorded El Hombre at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on May 1, 1967, with producer Cal Lampley and engineer Rudy Van Gelder. Don Schlitten handled the sleeve design and photography.

Strings!

Pat Martino released his second album, Strings!, in early 1968 on Prestige.

Martino shifts from the organ-led frame of the debut to a leaner quintet with saxophonist Joe Farrell and pianist Cedar Walton. They counter Martino with with hard-edged tenor phrases and compact ivory accents, while Ben Tucker and Walter Perkins hold a taut swing base. Percussionists Ray Appleton and Dave Levin add Latin undercurrents to the title piece.

“Strings” opens on a repeating bass figure and a light Latin pull, with flute woven through the theme and sharp breaks in the ensemble line. “Minority” runs at a brighter clip and gives Farrell, Martino, and Walton broad solo space across its long form. “Lean Years” and “Mom” keep the group in extended post-bop territory, with Martino writing longer lines across Walton’s chordal jabs and Perkins’ ride pattern. “Querido” returns to a Latin cast at the close.

A1. “Strings” (5:52) — Martino
A2. “Minority” (9:20) — Gigi Gryce

B1. “Lean Years” (8:37) — Martino
B2. “Mom” (7:23) — Martino
B3. “Querido” (6:07) — Martino

Pat Martino recorded Strings! in New York City on October 2, 1967, with producer Don Schlitten and engineer Richard Alderson. Schlitten also handled the sleeve design and photography.

East!

Pat Martino released his third album, East!, in mid-1968 on Prestige.

Martino trims the band to a quartet and places his guitar against Eddie Green’s piano, bass, and drums with no added horns or organ. Green answers the guitar with terse chord blocks and lean single-note figures, while Lenny McBrowne keeps the session on a straight swing axis; Tyrone Brown handles bass on the title track, where Ben Tucker adds tambourine, and Tucker takes the bass chair on the remaining four pieces.

The title piece rides a loping bass line and loose studio-built shape that gives the opening side an immediate edge. “Trick” tightens the frame and turns Martino toward sharper phrase lengths. “Close Your Eyes” and “Park Avenue Petite” place the quartet inside concise standard and bop forms, with Martino’s lines sounding especially clear against the plain rhythm support. “Lazy Bird” closes the set with fast Coltrane changes and a harder charge from the full quartet.

A1. “East” (12:47) — Tyrone Brown
A2. “Trick” (6:59) — Martino

B1. “Close Your Eyes” (6:10) — Bernice Petkere
B2. “Park Avenue Petite” (5:50) — Benny Golson
B3. “Lazy Bird” (6:28) — John Coltrane

Pat Martino recorded East! in New York City on January 8, 1968, with producer Don Schlitten and engineer Richard Alderson. Schlitten handled the sleeve design.

One production note: some web sources misstate the engineer credits for Strings! and East!. I followed the credits repeated across Discogs, Qobuz/Apple metadata, MusicBrainz, and period-discography references, which point to Richard Alderson on both albums.

Baiyina (The Clear Evidence)

Pat Martino released his fourth album, Baiyina (The Clear Evidence), in late 1968 on Prestige.

Martino leaves the organ-combo frame and writes for a septet with second guitar, alto saxophone, flute, bass, drums, tabla, and tambura. Khalil Balakrishna’s tambura sets a drone under the front line. Reggie Ferguson’s tabla alters the rhythmic surface, Gregory Herbert cuts through the texture on alto saxophone and flute, and Bobby Rose thickens the written figures beside Richard Davis and Charlie Persip.

Martino wrote the album as a four-part suite. “Baiyina” stretches across nearly twelve minutes with modal repetition and a long solo arc. “Where Love’s a Grown Up God” shortens the form and brings Herbert’s flute closer to the center of the arrangement. “Israfel” tightens the rhythmic grid, and “Distant Land” closes with the broadest span and the heaviest drone.

Martino wrote all four pieces.

A1. “Baiyina” (11:54)
A2. “Where Love’s a Grown Up God” (6:35)

B1. “Israfel” (6:18)
B2. “Distant Land” (13:08)

Pat Martino recorded Baiyina (The Clear Evidence) in New York City on June 11, 1968, with producer Don Schlitten and engineer Richard Alderson.

Don Schlitten also handled the sleeve design and photography, and the original LP carried the subtitle “A psychedelic excursion through the magical mysteries of the Koran.”

Desperado

Pat Martino released his fifth album, Desperado, in 1970 on Prestige.

Martino places a 12-string electric guitar at the front of an electric quartet with electric piano, electric bass, and drums. Eddie Green supplies the harmonic bed, Tyrone Brown anchors the low end, and Sherman Ferguson adds bells to the drum kit; Eric Kloss enters only on “Blackjack,” where soprano saxophone gives the opening cut an extra bite.

Martino wrote five of the six pieces and recast Sonny Rollins’s “Oleo” inside the same electric setting. “Blackjack” opens with Kloss in the front line and a hard rhythmic figure. “Dearborn Walk” snaps by in compact form. “Desperado” widens into the album’s largest original statement, “A Portrait of Diana” slows the set into a ballad, and “Express” closes with the quickest attack on the record.

A1. “Blackjack” (7:45) — Martino
A2. “Dearborn Walk” (3:50) — Martino
A3. “Oleo” (4:53) — Sonny Rollins

B1. “Desperado” (7:55) — Martino, Green
B2. “A Portrait of Diana” (4:30) — Martino
B3. “Express” (6:43) — Martino

Pat Martino recorded Desperado at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on March 9, 1970, with Bob Porter overseeing the date and Rudy Van Gelder handling the recording.

The original LP carried liner notes by Les Paul.

The Visit!

Pat Martino released his sixth album, The Visit!, in 1972 on Cobblestone.

Martino pares the ensemble to guitar, second guitar, bass, and drums, and sets the session inside a loose quartet format with no horns or keyboards. Bobby Rose reinforces the harmonic shape from the side. Richard Davis answers Martino with strong counterlines, and Billy Higgins gives the set a buoyant ride pulse.

The LP serves as a tribute to Wes Montgomery and draws one piece from his book. Martino opens with the title track in 6/8, then turns to standards and modern material across “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?,” “Footprints,” “How Insensitive,” and “Alone Together.” “Road Song” states the Montgomery link directly, while “Footprints” gives the quartet its loosest stretch and longest performance.

A1. “The Visit” (4:34) — Martino
A2. “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” (7:18) — Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand
A3. “Road Song” (5:43) — Wes Montgomery

B1. “Footprints” (8:22) — Wayne Shorter
B2. “How Insensitive” (6:13) — Norman Gimbel, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes
B3. “Alone Together” (5:52) — Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz

Pat Martino recorded The Visit! in New York City on March 24, 1972, with producer Don Schlitten and recording engineer Paul Goodman.

Don Schlitten handled the cover design, Fred Prost shot the photography, and the sleeve billed the album as inspired by and dedicated to Wes Montgomery. Muse reissued the album in 1975 as Footprints.

Live!

In 1974, Muse Records issued Live!, sourced from Pat Martino’s September 7, 1972, show in New York City.

Martino stretches the quartet across long electric forms and leaves wide room for the guitar to cut across Ron Thomas’s Rhodes voicings. Tyrone Brown and Sherman Ferguson supply a deep backbeat that lets Martino lengthen phrases, break lines into short bursts, and return with harder accents.

“Special Door” fills the first side with a long ascent from bop-derived runs to heavier electric pressure. “The Great Stream” condenses that attack into a shorter frame. “Sunny” recasts Bobby Hebb’s tune as a ten-minute vehicle with an extended central solo.

A1. “Special Door” (17:43) — Martino
B1. “The Great Stream” (10:20) — Martino
B2. “Sunny” (10:25) — Bobby Hebb

Pat Martino recorded Live! at Jazz City, also known as Folk City, in New York City on September 7, 1972, with producer Don Schlitten and remote-recording engineer Michael Delugg.

Don Schlitten handled the design and photography, and Dan Morgenstern wrote the liner notes.

Consciousness

Pat Martino released his seventh studio album, Consciousness, in 1974 on Muse.

Martino sets Consciousness inside a compact electric quartet that runs on electric piano, bass, drums, and added percussion. Electric pianist Eddie Green answers the guitar with clipped voicings and short counterlines, while Tyrone Brown and Sherman Ferguson hold the rhythmic base in a light but insistent current.

“Impressions” opens at a bright clip and puts Martino straight into rapid, tightly ordered lines. The title piece sits on a slow modal vamp, “Along Came Betty” brings a Latin lilt, and “On the Stairs” returns to a faster straight-ahead charge. “Passata on Guitar” and “Both Sides, Now” strip the texture to solo guitar and chordal detail.

A1. “Impressions” (4:33) — John Coltrane
A2. “Consciousness” (11:48) — Danny DePaolo, Eric Kloss
A3. “Passata on Guitar” (2:48) — Martino

B1. “Along Came Betty” (5:22) — Benny Golson
B2. “Willow” (6:09) — Martino
B3. “On the Stairs” (5:29) — Martino
B4. “Both Sides, Now” (2:06) — Joni Mitchell

Pat Martino recorded Consciousness at Generation Sound Studio in New York City on October 7, 1974, with producer Michael Cuscuna and engineer Tony May.

Ron Warwell handled the design and photography, and Gary Giddins wrote the liner notes.

We’ll Be Together Again

Pat Martino released his eighth studio album, We’ll Be Together Again, in early 1976 on Muse.

Martino strips the band to a duet with electric pianist Gil Goldstein and lets the record breathe through long rests, sustained tones, and close-voiced responses. Goldstein shades the harmony with Rhodes voicings that often blur into Martino’s tone, and the guitar answers with spare lines, low-register chords, and measured climaxes.

“Open Road” breaks the hush with a three-part suite and the sharpest unison writing on the album. J. J. Johnson’s “Lament” turns darker, while the title track and “You Don’t Know What Love Is” settle into restrained ballad phrasing. “Dreamsville,” “Send in the Clowns,” and “Willow Weep for Me” keep the duet in a reflective exchange.

A1. “Open Road: ‘Olee’ / ‘Variations and Song’ / ‘Open Road’” (15:56) — Martino, Martino, Gil Goldstein
A2. “Lament” (5:01) — J. J. Johnson

B1. “We’ll Be Together Again” (5:05) — Carl T. Fischer, Frankie Laine
B2. “You Don’t Know What Love Is” (4:46) — Gene de Paul, Don Raye
B3. “Dreamsville” (5:01) — Ray Evans, Jay Livingston, Henry Mancini
B4. “Send in the Clowns” (2:46) — Stephen Sondheim
B5. “Willow Weep for Me” (5:24) — Ann Ronell

Pat Martino recorded We’ll Be Together Again at Blue Rock Studio in New York City on February 13 and 17, 1976, with producer Ed Freeman and engineer Ed Korvin.

Ed Freeman also handled the original cover photography and design, and the album carried liner notes by Martino.

Starbright

Pat Martino released his ninth studio album, Starbright, in mid-1976 on Warner Bros.

Martino sets guitar and synthesizer inside a dense electric lineup with keyboardist Gil Goldstein and synthesists Warren Bernhardt and Mike Mainieri. Their presence adds tonal dimensions around bassist Will Lee , flutist Al Regni, and violinist Joe D’Onofrio.

The LP breaks into twelve brief titles, including two Wayne Shorter pieces, “Fall” and “Nefertiti,” which sit beside eight Martino originals and contributions by D’Onofrio and Goldstein.

“Blue Macaw” opens with a clipped, high-register figure over a taut electric rhythm section that locks a tight syncopated grid under Martino’s bright, filtered lead tone. He states the theme in short picked cells, then extends the line into longer sustained phrases that blur the guitar toward synthesizer color. Midway, the lead rises in broader arcs above a darker keyboard layer and a steadier bass figure. Martino then snaps the opening motif back into focus with harder accents and quicker note clusters before the track closes on repeated upper-register sustain and a fading electronic glare.

A1. “Starbright” (3:37) — Martino
A2. “Eyes” (2:36) — Joseph D’Onofrio
A3. “Law” (3:37) — Martino
A4. “Fall” (2:03) — Wayne Shorter
A5. “Deeda” (3:43) — Martino
A6. “Starbright Epilogue” (0:30) — Martino

B1. “Masquerada” (2:53) — Martino
B2. “Nefertiti” (2:51) — Wayne Shorter
B3. “Blue Macaw” (2:57) — Martino
B4. “City Lights” (0:53) — Gil Goldstein
B5. “Prelude” (6:25) — Martino
B6. “Epilogue” (0:53) — Martino

Pat Martino recorded and mixed Starbright at Media Sound in New York with producer Ed Freeman and engineer Michael DeLugg. Alec Head and Ron St. Germain assisted, and Sterling Sound handled mastering.

Shig Ikeda shot the cover, and Pellegrini, Kaestle & Gross Inc. handled the design.

Joyous Lake

Pat Martino released his tenth studio album, Joyous Lake, in December 1976 on Warner Bros.

Martino juggles guitar with percussion, flexiglass, and the EML 101 synthesizer; backed by bassist Mark Leonhard, drummer Kenwood Dennard, and synthesist Delmar Brown, who plays the EML 500 and Oberheim polyphonic models.

“Line Games” opens with a tight ensemble charge. Brown’s “Pyramidal Vision” hangs on a more atmospheric line, “Mardi Gras” starts in a looser gait, and Dennard’s “M’Wandishi” cuts harder and faster before “Song Bird” and the title track close the album in two broader spans.

A1. “Line Games” (3:55) — Martino
A2. “Pyramidal Vision” (7:42) — Delmar Brown
A3. “Mardi Gras” (8:56) — Delmar Brown
B1. “M’Wandishi” (5:29) — Kenwood Dennard
B2. “Song Bird” (7:55) — Martino
B3. “Joyous Lake” (7:33) — Martino

Pat Martino recorded Joyous Lake at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami in September 1976 with producer Paul A. Rothchild and engineer Steve Klein. Rothchild later remixed the album at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood.

Beverly Parker handled the photography and design.

Exit

Pat Martino released his eleventh studio album, Exit, in 1977 on Muse.

Martino returns to a spare quartet with piano, bass, and drums. Pianist Gil Goldstein answers the guitar with clean chord blocks and short lines, Richard Davis gives the session a deep acoustic base, and Billy Hart supplies a light but firm rhythmic lift under Martino’s long phrases.

The title piece opens as the broadest original statement on the record. “Come Sunday” turns inward, “Days of Wine and Roses” and “Blue Bossa” shorten the frame, and “I Remember Clifford” closes with a slower, elegiac line beside the album’s clearest bass-and-guitar interplay.

A1. “Exit” (9:23) — Martino
A2. “Come Sunday” (7:30) — Duke Ellington
A3. “Three Base Hit” (4:30) — Martino
B1. “Days of Wine and Roses” (4:47) — Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer
B2. “Blue Bossa” (4:57) — Kenny Dorham
B3. “I Remember Clifford” (7:48) — Benny Golson

Pat Martino recorded Exit at Blue Rock Studios in New York on February 10, 1976, with producer Ed Freeman and engineer Eddie Korvin.

Carol Friedman handled the cover design and photography, and Kent Hazen wrote the liner notes.

Discography: