Pat Martino Organ Trio Plus Horns
Part of Late Nights at Zankel Hall.
Performers
Pat Martino, Guitar
Pat Bianchi, Organ
Carmen Intorre Jr., Drums
Adam Niewood, Saxophones
Alex Norris, Trumpet
Event Duration
The program will last approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.This concert and the Joyce and George T. Wein Shape of Jazz series are made possible by the Joyce and George Wein Foundation in memory of Joyce Wein.
Presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with Absolutely Live Entertainment LLC.
Jeff Tamarkin on Pat Martino
Today, Pat Martino refers to his
near-fatal 1980 brain aneurysm as “the event,” and he divides his life into
before and after its occurrence. “Prior to the event,” says the guitarist, “I
can honestly say that I considered myself a musician. After the event, that
label just disintegrated, and my focus became living from moment to moment.
Now, when I’m functioning as a bandleader, I can consider myself a musician
because of the responsibilities that go with it, but in general, I don’t. I’ve
been blessed with an ability, but when it comes to my identity, that has
modulated to a much broader context of consciousness.”
It took Martino years to recover; among all of the other challenges he faced,
he literally had to learn to play the guitar again. That he regained all of his
skills and his signature style over time is an astonishing testament to the
ability of the human brain to regenerate
itself. Today, fortunately, most of the challenges facing the
72-year-old Philadelphian are more pedestrian, such as whether to perform a
given date with his trio or his quintet. He’ll be bringing the latter—Hammond B-3 organist Pat Bianchi, drummer Carmen
Intorre Jr., saxophonist Adam Niewood, and trumpeter Alex Norris—with
him to Zankel Hall.
“Aside from the fact that Pat and Carmen are both virtuosic, there is a rapport
between the three of us,” says Martino. The addition of the horns fleshes out the sound, “the color of it,” he adds. “This
particular ensemble is very powerful, very full and rich. I love that.”
Regardless of the configuration or the individual musicians involved, however,
Martino is loath to categorize the music he makes—then or now. “I find it
difficult to put a label on something,” he says.
And he rarely listens to his older recordings or even thinks much about what
has come before in his life. For Martino, it always comes down to right now.
That’s why he doesn’t prepare a set list in advance of a concert. “We normally
and naturally wait until the event gets closer before we make plans,” he says.
“That’s primarily to be in tune with our being at that moment.”
He has, in fact, only one concern when he takes the stage. “I only hope that
the audience’s pleasure is equal to mine.”
—Jeff Tamarkin is a veteran music journalist.
Bios
Pat Martino
When the anesthesia wore off, Pat Martino looked up hazily at his parents and his doctors,
and tried to piece together any memory of his life.
One of the greatest guitarists in jazz, Martino had suffered a severe brain aneurysm
and underwent surgery after being told that his condition could be terminal. After his
operations, he could remember almost nothing. He barely recognized his parents and
had no memory of his guitar or his career. He remembers feeling as if he had been
"dropped cold, empty, neutral, cleansed ... naked."
In the following months, Martino made a remarkable recovery. Through intensive study of
his own historic recordings, and with the help of computer technology, he managed to
reverse his memory loss and return to form on his instrument. His past recordings
eventually became "an old friend, a spiritual experience which remained beautiful and
honest."
This recovery fits in perfectly with Martino's illustrious personal history. Since playing
his first notes while still in his pre-teenage years, he has been recognized as one of the
most exciting and virtuosic guitarists in jazz. With a distinctive, robust sound and
gut-wrenching performances, he represents the best not just in jazz, but in all of
music. He embodies thoughtful energy and soul.
Born Pat Azzara in Philadelphia in 1944, Martino was first exposed to jazz through his
father, Carmen "Mickey" Azzara, who sang in local clubs and briefly studied guitar with
Eddie Lang. He took the young Pat to all the city's hotspots to hear and meet Wes
Montgomery and other musical giants. "I have always admired my father and have wanted to
impress him. As a result, it forced me to get serious with my creative powers."
Martino became actively involved with the early rock scene in Philadelphia, alongside
stars like Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, and Bobby Darin. His first road gig was with jazz
organist Charles Earland, who was also a friend from high school. Martino's reputation soon
spread among other jazz players, leading to bandleader Lloyd Price recruiting him to play
alongside Slide Hampton and Red Holloway.
Martino moved to Harlem to immerse himself in the "soul jazz" played by Willis "Gatortail"
Jackson and others. The organ trio concept had a profound influence on his rhythmic and
harmonic approach, and he remained in that idiom as a sideman, gigging with Jack McDuff and
Don Patterson. An icon before his 18th birthday, Martino was signed as a leader for
Prestige Records when he was 20. His seminal albums from this period include classics like
Strings!, Desperado, El Hombre, and Baiyina (The Clear
Evidence), one of jazz's first successful ventures into psychedelia.
In 1976, while performing internationally with his fusion group Joyous Lake, Martino began
experiencing seizures, which were eventually diagnosed as a result of an
arteriovenousmalformation in his brain. After surgery and
recovery, he resumed his career in 1987 when he appeared in New York, a gig that was
released on a CD with an appropriate name: The Return. He then took another hiatus
when both of his parents became ill and didn't record again until after their deaths.
Today, Martino lives in Philadelphia and continues to grow as a musician. His experiments
with guitar synthesizers (begun during his rehabilitation) are taking him in the direction
of orchestral arrangements, promising groundbreaking possibilities. Musicians flock to his
door for lessons, and he offers not only the benefits of his musical knowledge, but
also the philosophical insights of a man who has faced and overcome enormous
obstacles. "The guitar is of no great importance to me," he muses. "The people it brings to
me are what matter. They are what I'm extremely grateful for because they are alive. The
guitar is just an apparatus."
Pat Bianchi
Grammy-nominated organist Pat Bianchi continues to establish himself as one of the
foremost organists on the scene today. His command of the instrument, harmonic prowess, and
rhythmic intensity--as well as his sensitivity and versatility--are rivaled by few. In
2016, Bianchi was named Rising Star Organist by DownBeat magazine. He also has the
honor of performing with both jazz guitar icon Pat Martino, and NEA Jazz Master and bebop
saxophone legend Lou Donaldson.
Bianchi has just finished recording his seventh CD as a leader, which will be released on
his record label 21H Records in the spring of 2017. He is also a featured artist on
numerous recordings, including Tim Warfield's One For Shirley, which is in
dedication to organist Shirley Scott, as well as guitarist Chuck Loeb's Plain 'n'
Simple. Bianchi also pays homage to organist Larry Young on drummer Ralph Peterson's
Unity Project's CD Outer Reaches.
Bianchi never looses sight of his need to grow as a musician, and he is
constantly working to push his playing to the next level. Having the great fortune of
apprenticing under a number of great masters in jazz has given him the confidence to spread
his wings.
Carmen Intorre Jr.
Carmen Intorre Jr. developed an early interest in music and began playing drums at the age
of five. He has performed and recorded with numerous musicians, including George Benson,
Larry Coryell, Wynton Marsalis, Monty Alexander, George Coleman, Eric Alexander, George
Cables, Benny Golson, Richie Cole, Joe Locke, Lew Tabackin, Bobby Watson, Ira Sullivan,
Bucky Pizzarelli, and many others.
A 2011 Grammy nominee for his co-producer credit on the critically acclaimed album by Joey
DeFrancesco entitled Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson, Intorre
also had the pleasure of performing alongside DeFrancesco and Dr. Lonnie Smith on the PBS
show Legends of Jazz, hosted by Ramsey Lewis.
Receiving both his bachelor's and master's degrees from The Juilliard School, Intorre is
always eager to uncover the latest information about music and drumming, and to share that
information with others. As he explains, "Music is an opportunity for me to give up my
soul, while in the process connecting with the audiences' souls as well. I want the
musicians on the bandstand and the members of the audience to feel uplifted after a
performance, to feel great about themselves through the experience that they encountered."
Perhaps one word best describes Intorre and his music: joy.
Adam Niewood
Adam Niewood is a jazz improviser and American composer. He grew up in a musical
household in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. His father, Gerry, was an improvising jazz
musician and freelancing woodwind doubler; his mother, Gurly, was a classical clarinetist
and pianist, with a full-roster of local piano students. "Piano lessons on the first floor,
jazz on the third floor--there was music floating around in the house every day!" This
environment lead to a young Adam marching around the dining room table with a penny whistle
and first tooting into a soprano saxophone at the age of two. By the time he was five years
old, Adam had tagged along with his parents on two world tours with Paul Simon and Art
Garfunkel, and Liza Minnelli.
Niewood's first official instrument was the clarinet in fourth grade, but he quickly
gravitated towards the alto saxophone. In high school, his band director decided to
switch him from alto to tenor. "The sound of the tenor got me. This is when I started
checking out my father's recordings." A couple years later during his junior year in high
school, he was given the opportunity to play second tenor in a big band that included
Joe Romano, Larry Covelli, Lew Soloff, Don Menza, Steve Gadd, and his father. As he
says, "That was all I needed to convince me that I wanted to go to music school and
play music professionally."
Alex Norris
Trumpeter Alex Norris grew up in Columbia, Maryland, where he began studying music at the
age of nine. After graduating from high school, he studied at the Peabody Conservatory,
where he received a bachelor's degree in 1990. Since relocating to New York in 1992, Norris
has worked with the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi's Jazz Orchestra, and
Maria Schneider's band. From 1994-1998, he was also a member of Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead.
Norris has performed and recorded extensively in the bands of Lonnie Plaxico and Jason
Lindner, and with Ralph Irizarry's Timbalaye. Additionally, he has worked with many noted
jazz musicians, including Slide Hampton, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Chris Potter, Carl
Allen, John Patitucci, Mulgrew Miller, and Brian Blade. Being very active in Afro-Cuban
jazz as well, he has worked with Andy and Jerry González, Manny Oquendo, Poncho Sanchez,
and Chico O'Farrill.
In 1995, Norris earned his master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He since
has served on the music faculties of the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Towson
University, and the City College of New York. In 2007, he received his doctorate from the
University of Miami's Frost School of Music, where he remained on the faculty until
2008.
Norris now performs all over the world with his own jazz group and with Ron Carter's Great
Big Band, the Mingus Big Band, Pat Martino, Alan Ferber's Big Band, Kyle Eastwood,
Miguel Zenón, Amina Figarova, Michele Rosewoman, and many other jazz and Latin jazz
artists. He is also a member of the jazz faculty at the Peabody
Conservatory.