Search - Pat Martino :: Footprints

Even as a teenager, Pat Martino was already a fixture on the chitlin circuit and the Harlem jazz scene, where his rhythmic intensity, harmonic sophistication and horn-like melodic elisions sent all the young jazz guitarists scurrying back to the woodshed. Deeply influenced by the studied classicism of Johnny Smith and the bluesy rhythmic drive of Wes Montgomery, Martino defined his own musical turf on a series of albums for the Prestige and Muse labels (most tellingly on the eastern-flavored Baiyina [The Clear Evidence] and the hard swinging Live). But Footprints (originally issued as The Visit) may be the best of Martino's studio recordings, in part due to its dark, sensual recorded sound and the sublime rhythmic empathy of Richard Davis and Billy Higgins. On the title tune and Montgomery's "Road Song," Martino dances through the changes with the commanding intensity of horn giants such as Coltrane or Clifford Brown. Yet the standout tracks are a pair of deeply moving ballads ("What Are You Doing with the Rest of Your Life" and "How Insensitive"), where Martino evokes Montgomery's spirit by incorporating the old master's octave stylings into understated solos of incredible grace and lyric restraint. --Chip Stern