Pat Martino

This Philadelphian began playing professionally at 15. His father, who had studied with the great early jazz guitarist Eddie Lang, taught him how to play and took him to hear Wes Montgomery and other guitarists. After playing with such early rockers as Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker, he went on the road with a high school chum, organist Charles Earland. He soon became a busy sideman for both jazz and rock artists. He soon found that his heart lay with soul jazz, and played in organ trios in Harlem with Jack McDuff and Don Patterson; before he was 20, he was recording as a leader. He also made ventures into avant-garde and psychedelic music. However, he suffered from terrible headaches, which turned out to be the warning signs of a life-threatening brain aneurysm. After surgery, he had no memory of his musical career, and worked for several years to regain his memory and his playing skills before appearing again in New York in 1987; the CD of that comeback concert was called "The Return." Aside from a break he took when both of his parents became ill, he has been back ever since and better than ever. He continues to record and perform, and was recently on a CD recorded in memory of his old friend Charles Earland. He also teaches on the college level and has given numerous seminars and master classes, passing his knowledge to a new generation of jazz musicians. 


References:http://www.waer.org/25guitarists.html