Pat Martino

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Pat Martino (born as Pat Azzara in Philadelphia, August 25, 1944) was first exposed to jazz through his father, who sang in local clubs and studied guitar with Eddie Lang. Pat began playing professionally when he was 15. He worked early on with groups led by Willis Jackson, Red Holloway, and organists, including Don Patterson, Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff.
After playing with John Handy (1966), he started leading his own bands and recording sessions for Prestige, Muse, and Warner Bros.
After brain surgery in 1980 to correct an aneurysm caused him to lose his memory and completely forget how to play, he resumed his career when he appeared in 1987 in New York, a gig that was released on a CD The Return. He then took another break when both of his parents became ill, and he didn't record again until 1994, when he recorded Interchange and then The Maker.
Although Pat is not as active as earlier, he recorded several albums for Muse and Evidence; and later signed with Blue Note, issuing All Sides Now in 1996, followed two years later by Stone Blue and in 1998 by Fire Dance.
In 2001 Martino released a live album recorded at Yoshi's in California. Two years later he teamed with saxophonist Joe Lovano for Think Tank. In 2006 Pat recorded "Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery" that appeared on Blue Note in 2006.

Artist website: www.patmartino.com

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