Mel Martin and the Benny Carter Tribute Band
Mel Martin, saxophones and flute; Andrew Speight, alto saxophone; Jackie Ryan, vocals; Don Friedman, piano; Rob Fisher, bass; Jeff Marrs, drums

Sunday, July 13 | 2:30 pm | Dinkelspiel Auditorium
Tickets: $28 general | $14 students

Online:
By phone: 650.725.ARTS (2787); In Person: Stanford Ticket Office
For more information, go to our Ticketing Information Page

Program Notes

“Mr. Martin displays a dazzling technique and an awesome command of jazz harmony. His approach to playing is unique. He doesn’t sound like anyone else.” – Saxophone Journal

Among the Dukes, Earls, and Counts of jazz royalty, Benny Carter was known as the King. A master of both the alto saxophone and the trumpet, he was also a prolific composer, arranger, and bandleader. He passed away in 2003, but his spirit lives on in the music of his erstwhile student Mel Martin. Martin is a Bay Area jazz institution, known for his woodwind virtuosity and his teaching. Martin’s extensive collaborations with Carter include tours of Japan with the Benny Carter Orchestra, and a recording project featuring Carter playing his own compositions with Mel’s group. For a loving centennial tribute in 2007, Martin assembled a stellar combo of musicians, all of whom had been deeply touched by Carter. The project was so successful that Martin has made the tribute band an ongoing project, and they continue to bring the magical music of Benny Carter to appreciative audiences everywhere, including engagements at Yoshi’s, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center, and the Hollywood Bowl.

INSIDE JAZZ:
The Genius of Benny Carter
Speaker: Sonny Buxton
1:30 pm, free with concert ticket

Mel Martin web site

Music link

Q&A with Mel Martin

What is the first recording you remember hearing as a child?
First jazz recording was Benny Goodman at Carnegie hall. Before that, various classical artists.

Who is your favorite jazz musician under the age of 30?
Zachary Cosmo Breindel, 3 1/2, my grandson. Truly amazing!

What job would you have if you weren’t a jazz musician?
Brain surgeon.

What’s the strangest experience you’ve ever had on the bandstand?
Playing a rock festival (The Festival of Life) with Boz Scaggs in Baton Rouge where people were throwing things at the bandstand which was shaking, some people died, some people were born and the Louisiana State troopers were searching every car on the way out of the festival grounds. (A lot of hashish got eaten that day). Also, playing a rock festival in Detroit where the band got dosed and there was a race riot.

What’s your favorite food?
Salmon.

What’s the most exotic place you’ve traveled to as a musician?
Maui.

What’s the last book you’ve read?
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi.

If you could play with any other musician, living or dead (with whom you have not played), who would it be and why?
Count Basie. I heard him as a teenager. I did get to play with the Basie legacy band a few years ago.

What’s your favorite tune?
Souvenir by Benny Carter. Also, Where the Warm Winds Blow also by Benny Carter.

What’s your favorite jazz venue?
Yoshi’s and Dizzy’s.

Who is your greatest musical influence?
Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Bartok, Mozart, Bird, Miles, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have three recordings with you, what would they be?
Kind of Blue - Miles Davis, Art Tatum w/ Benny Carter and Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane at Town Hall.

How much do you practice each week?
15-18 hours.

What hobbies do you have?
Film, photography.

If you could be any other type of artist other than a jazz musician, what would you be and why?
Photographer, film director.

Do you have a favorite music-related joke (that can be told in mixed company!)?
World’s shortest blues - “I Didn’t Wake Up This Morning!” (James Moody-2008)

When did you become interested in music, and what circumstances or events led to your becoming a professional musician?
Mom started me on piano at 5. Played woodwinds professionally from the age of 14. Failed miserably at selling children’s shoes (turning point).

If you were to describe your music as a color, what color would it be and why?
I would describe my music as containing all of the colors of the rainbow because my goal is to make it multi-dimensional.