Pat Martino
Live At Yoshi's

THE REVIEW

Pat Martino is one of the greatest jazz guitarists on the international scene. Pick any of his albums and you'll see for yourself. The path that led him to this achievement, however, was very difficult, so much so that it could easily be the plot of a Hollywood movie.

Born in Philadelphia in 1944, Pat was introduced to jazz and a musical career by his father, who was himself a singer and guitarist. At the age of twelve, he started playing the guitar, and by fifteen, he was already a professional, garnering praise from the greatest guitarists of the time, including Wes Montgomery. The latter, among others, represents one of Pat's main models, although it's important to recognize his need to constantly seek out his own sound. In the following years, after paying his dues as a session player, he began releasing albums as a leader. His musical reputation grew progressively, and he seemed poised for a long and brilliant career when, in 1976, he was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Surgical intervention became necessary to save his life. The operation was successful, but Pat lost his memory. He forgot everything: his life, his career, his guitar, how to play it. The talented guitarist vanished. He had to start over.

In 1987, he finally returned to perform at a club. The live performance was recorded and metaphorically titled "The Return". He did not record any more albums until 1994, with the release of "Interchange". Since then, he found continuity. Today, Pat Martino has returned to being the incredible guitarist he once was.
Listen to "Live at Yoshi's" (Blue Note - 2001). It's one of the most beautiful guitar jazz albums I've heard in recent years. The album allows you to fully appreciate Pat Martino's amazing guitar technique. Fast, precise, clean, sophisticated, elegant. On this occasion, you can hear him accompanied by drummer Billy Hart and Joey DeFrancesco, a genius on the Hammond B3, who perfectly converses with Pat Martino's six strings. Sixty minutes of music, eight tracks in total, among which stand out "Blue In Green" by Miles Davis and a beautiful interpretation of "Oleo" by Sonny Rollins. I recommend it to everyone, even to those who don't love jazz. It might just change your mind.