A Celebration of the Life and the Legacy of Pat Martino
35+ Musicians
Jazz@thePoint Festival
Gateway Playhouse
Somers Point, NJ
November 3-5, 2022
NOTE: A complete listing of the Celebration events and musicians provided by the South Jersey Jazz Society can be found here.
One of the best puns in jazz history appeared in the title of Shaun Brady’s preview of this 3-day set of concerts and other festivities. Martino’s song and album title, Joyous Lake (Warner Brothers, 1977) became “Joyous Wake” (Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov 3, 2022). Martino, who had an impish sense of humor, would be laughing heartily. And joyous it was: three evenings of all-out performances, mostly of Martino’s compositions and recordings, with ensembles drawn from a host of musicians, mostly guitarists, most of whom knew Martino personally and were heavily influenced by him. As in the traditional Irish wake and the New Orleans funerals that presaged jazz, the mourning process was achieved by joyfully celebrating Martino’s remarkable contribution to the art of the guitar, jazz, and the lives of many whose souls were touched by him.
Martino’s “rock star” status drew musicians and fans from around the country to this somewhat remote town. Even experienced via live stream on the internet, the energy generated could have rivaled a rock concert by, for example, the great Santana, who was influenced by him and many times praised him. The energy came from the highly charged musicians who came from near and far to honor Martino and his music. Just to mention a few, there was drummer Kenwood Dennard, saxophonist Eric Alexander, pianist Jim Ridl, saxophonist Michael Pedicin, organist Tony Monaco, and drummer Byron Landham, all of whom served as sidemen for Martino. A host of guitarists influenced by him came on strong, including Paul Bollenback, Sheryl Bailey, Barry Greene, Dave Stryker, Mark Whitfield, Jonathan Kreisberg, Joel Harrison, Rodney Jones, Russell Malone, Charlie Apicella, David O’Rourke, Jimmy Bruno, and John Mulhern …
Read the complete article at https://www.allaboutjazz.com/pat-martino-a-celebration-of-his-life-and-legacy-at-jazz-at-the-point-festival