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BLOG SERIES: Jazz Musicians I Have Known // Pat Martino.

Updated: May 30


 

Pat Martino


Pat Martino, a renowned guitarist, had a close friendship with my teacher, Harry Leahey. During my time in high school, I had the opportunity to attend a few of Pat's gigs, and I found him to be a remarkably gracious individual. I continued to follow his career until he stopped performing. The last time I saw him was in Los Angeles after he had a stroke, but it seemed like he didn't remember me. However, he did recall Harry's name.


Both Pat and Harry received lessons from Dennis Sandole, who was known for teaching jazz musicians in Philadelphia, including legendary figures like John Coltrane and Oliver Nelson. I attribute Sandole's teaching to Coltrane's groundbreaking album "Giant Steps" and his exploration of outside playing, where he incorporated Sandole's three-note scales along with elements of Indian and Ethiopian horn playing. You can hear Sandole's influence in Coltrane's wide interval leaps.


Once you had mastered the basics, Sandole would write out a page of 16th note lines using intervals that he believed you needed to work on. In the late 1940s, Pat Martino went to Los Angeles to join his brother and pursue opportunities in the movie and TV soundtrack industry. His playing had such an exotic sound that he earned the nickname "The Chinese Guitarist." He ended up giving 15-minute lessons, where he would review the previous page he had written out and then provide another one. Almost everyone in the Philadelphia area took at least a few lessons from him.


Pat Martino's playing style can be described as a fusion of Dennis Sandole's lines and BeBop, and I was a huge fan of all his releases, ranging from standard jazz to jazz fusion. In my opinion, he was unparalleled in the fusion world because unlike most fusion guitarists who couldn't play BeBop and had a rock tone, Pat's ability to incorporate real BeBop licks over jazz fusion funk rock beats was truly unique. Additionally, his original compositions showcased the influence of Sandole's lesson lines, setting him apart from the likes of McLaughlin and DiMeola, who often relied on running pentatonic scales without making significant interval leaps or expressing meaningful note bends.


It was evident that these musicians didn't listen extensively to artists like Hendrix or Albert King and failed to grasp the importance of practicing bends until their fingers were nearly torn apart in order to achieve a compelling sound. Bending a note is not simply a mechanical action; it should convey a message. Unlike rock and blues styles, Pat Martino didn't even attempt to emulate them, as he used a 15-gauge string for his high E, whereas most rockers opt for a 10 or 9 gauge. With a 15-gauge string, it's nearly impossible to achieve a whole step bend.


I eventually obtained Pat's contact information through Harry and had initially planned to take lessons from him. However, I soon learned about his rather unconventional teaching method, which struck me as quite peculiar. A friend who had already taken lessons from Pat explained that he viewed all Major Seventh chords as related Dominant or Dorian chords. He would then use these Dominant/Dorian riffs over other chords as substitutions. Despite the "off" notes, Pat played at such a fast pace that they didn't seem to matter. For instance, for an A Minor 7th flat 5 chord, he would play a C Dorian/F Dom, and for an A Dom+5 chord, he would play a Bb Dorian/Eb Dom. While this approach may sound simple, it didn't allow for the inclusion of the pleasing notes of the One chord, often resulting in a riff-like sound on the resolving chord. However, in the genre of jazz fusion, which didn't heavily feature Major Sevenths, Pat's style sounded incredible.


Considering that Harry had already taught me all of these concepts, I decided to save my money and forgo the lessons. Nevertheless, I would occasionally call Pat, and I eventually ended up purchasing his black Johnny Smith guitar for $600 after he traded it in to Sam Koontz for a Koontz guitar. Speaking of Koontz and his guitars, that's a whole other story. Harry also bought one, and when I made some money with the Fatback Band, I had planned to order one for myself. Fortunately, Koontz was heavily intoxicated at the time and took too long to deliver, so I ended up canceling my order. The reason you won't find any Koontz guitars on a Martino LP cover is that despite their incredible playability when new, they quickly fell apart. Today, these guitars hold no value. Regrettably, I sold Pat's Johnny Smith to fund my move to LA since, at that time, jazz was merely a serious hobby for me—I was primarily a rocker.


Now, let me share with you my funniest story about Pat was this...


I organized my telephone numbers according to area code, so all my Philly friends’ numbers were in a row. A friend who had moved overseas was visiting and we liked to prank our friends with fake producers and gig offers. We would call up the mark pretending to be a producer booker and see how long we could string them along with potential gigs before they got mad and hung up. I dialed what I thought was our mutual guitar friend from Philly then handed the phone to my buddy. I had dialed Pat Martinos’ number by mistake and they both were Philly guys who had similar voices so my cohort in the prank couldn’t tell. The guy we intended to call always used to want to play the same song every time we jammed so the prank was to pretend, we wanted to hire him for a studio session to play his favorite song. We figured he would catch on quick but since it was Pat instead of the intended victim, he didn’t get it. Well finally my friend announced his name and wanted to catch up with who he thought was our mutual friend, so he started inquiring about his life etc. The conversation turned to Sweden where my friend lived, and Pat said he was going to touring there in a month. This surprised us since the guy we thought we were talking to didn’t even have a band, so my friend asked "What’s the name of your band? The reply was The Pat Martino Band...this is when I realized I had dialed the wrong number in my phonebook.


Pat Martino's kindness was evident when he engaged in a conversation with a complete stranger for a good five minutes. After realizing my mistake, I took the phone and explained who I was, and we all shared a laugh. Most people would have hung up on a prank call like that, but not Pat. This incident provided a glimpse into his gracious and down-to-earth nature.


I later learned that Pat had suffered a stroke, causing him to forget a significant portion of his life, including some of his guitar skills. The story goes that he had to relearn everything, but personally, I don't believe he forgot as much as it was claimed. Within a few years, he seemed to have regained his blazing 16th note playing style. The last time I had the opportunity to see him was at Catalinas in LA in the late 90s. Once again, he displayed his graciousness, although I sensed that he didn't remember me. However, when I mentioned Johnny Smith and Harry Leahey, I saw a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.


If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out Pat's early LPs. In particular, give "BAYINA" a listen, as it predates the emergence of "jazz fusion" by five years. On this album, Pat incorporated a Sitar drone and composed modal tunes, with Sonny Fortune on flute. It is truly one of the most unique recordings by a jazz musician of all time.



 


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