What Studying with Pat Martino Was Like Time: 1973 - 1975 Place: NYC, Greenwich Village, 14th. St When we look back at our lives what we notice at first mental glance are monument-like landmarks (like non-melting icebergs in the ocean of experience) or highlights of people, events, happenings, failures, successes, likes, dislikes, etc., etc. And of the few really impressive highlights in my own life, one has to be my time and experience spent with my teacher and friend Pat Martino. I started playing at the age of 19 in 1968, learning the obligatory guitar musings of Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Credence Clearwater, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, etc., etc. By ‘69 I had a rock band (I went to Woodstock and came back with the driving desire to have a band). During the early 70s I had a number of rock bands playing locally around northern NJ and NY. By the mid-seventies I found myself growing ear-weary of Rock & Rock, and wandered and gained great knowledge and experiences through a number of jazz guitar teachers in NYC. A friend gave me Pat Martino’s number when he was living in Greenwich Village. Pat Martino’s “Live” album had almost worn a hole in the vinyl by trying to figure out his “Sunny” solo. What a joy it is now to retell this experience. I was about 2 or 3 years out of college with a degree in Education and a minor in Music. I had just completed an Associate Arts degree in Jazz Arranging from Berklee in Boston. I was teaching public school and giving private guitar lessons and playing in local Jazz bands: weddings, clubs, concerts, plays, NJ Jazz Guitar Ensemble etc., etc. It was when I began to lose interest in Rock & Roll that I began to hear jazz voicings that Rock just didn’t employ. It was after I began studying jazz (my first teacher was Rob Yelin who I will tell about later because he made a huge impact on my rock playing his books on Chord Melody are a MUST HAVE for any aspiring young jazz guitarist more on Rob in another post). After Berklee I studied with Pat in the early 70s immediately before he had his brain aneurism (or tumor). He was living in am upscale high-rise apartment building on 14th. St. in Greenwich Village. I lived in Jersey right across the river. I heard that Pat was giving private lessons from another guitarist who knew another guitarist who was taking lessons from him. At that time I believe Pat was charging $35 or $50 a lesson (been so long I don’t recall exactly). But Pat’s lessons were not timed; it was not like you were coming over for an hour lesson or so. No, I could remember times when I had arrived at say 1 p.m. and stayed till 6 or 7 p.m., or at least left when it was well dark. It all depended on Pat’s schedule. This is only one instance where Pat’s super-human warmth shone through. If he had nothing pressing on his calendar, he spent the time with you because you were there for his immediate attention of your needs which were Guitar Instruction. However, once you started the preliminary lesson where Pat explains his Matrix (he would meticulously draw out his matrix of chord and scale structures with a fine ruler and mechanical pencil and make sure it was clean and without erasure marks before he gave it to you) ñ a true perfectionist not only in his playing but also in his penmanship. All that was required was for the student to bring two music notebooks (binder type) to the lesson. With two notebooks, Pat would give you one with his lesson for the day in which he had done in advance, and while you were home studying that lesson, Pat would prepare the second notebook with the next successive lesson. He would give you that book on your return, and you would give him back to first book in which he would prepare the next lesson. When Pat had figured his system was completely taught you would have two notebooks full of his system. Now get this: it was not important for you to bring a guitar. If it was important for you to play something for pat, he had a room full of guitars (I remember an Ovation nylon string he was using then to record his “Passata” and “Both Sides Now” at the time. I loved the sound of that guitar so much that I went out and bought one back then.) Back then Pat was arranging “Both Sides Now” for a recording date, and he asked me what I thought about his chord voicing for the intro, outro, and middle section - they were major/add 9 chords. The voicing fingerings were a bit difficult for me at the time because you had to extend your pinky in a grand barre position out three frets on the string and G string when taken up a fourth (which I practiced my heart out until these chords became comfortable - listen to “Both Sides Now” and you’ll hear these chords.) Pat was really not interested in what level of player you were; he was not interested in hearing you play (not at all in a condescending attitude, but with a more important purpose of making sure his system was totally comprehended). In Pat’s right logic, he reasoned that if a student was coming to him, it wasn’t to learn guitar (he pre-interviewed you to know what level you were at ñ he did this over the phone.) Pat made it clear that he wasn’t giving basic guitar rudiments, but that he was going to present his own system. Once all his intentions and purposes were clear and out of the way, what Pat was foremost and primarily concerned with was your understanding and application of his fret board system, of his chordal structure (major, minor, dom., dim., half-dim., alt. dom., aug. dom, etc., his chord voicings, fingerings, and his philosophy. When he gave you the notebook he had prepared, Pat would go over the material and tell you to study it and apply it to your regular playing and practicing schedule. Pat never asked you to do anything out of your regular and normal playing style. His purpose was always to have you understand his method and system and to apply it to your current style. When you returned for the next lesson he would ask if you had any problems with the last lesson and to give an example of how you applied it. You would, of course, play your best at that time for the master. At that point Pat would ask you to play his last lesson. This continued to a point where his system was complete. I remember one lesson where the guitar and his system was never even mentioned -- it was a lesson all about philosophy -- it was Pat’s philosophy of music, musicianship, life, etc. You would, of course, leave his apartment with a total whole new vision of music, life, et. al. Pat was (and still is) a consummate reader and learner. He was (is) so well versed in the classics (Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Voltaire, Eastern and Western philosophers and religions, etc., etc.). Pat once related to me how he was self-taught in many subjects that would normally be taught in high school and college because he went on the road early in his teens (I believe he said at 14 he went on the road with Philly organ groups - Jack McDuff, Patterson, Lonnie Liston Smith, etc., etc.), he realized early on that he was missing out on a whole world of knowledge that he instinctfully knew would benefit his life and music (which is one to Pat). So, what he did to compensate for his lack of formal education was to visit the libraries in the town he toured and gigged in. He would spent his free time in library reading rooms doing research and exploring the classics. This went on for years. Talk about generosity. Pat Martino is one of the most generous human beings I have ever been privileged to know. One time I asked him during a lesson if he had any of his solos written out, and if so, would it at all be possible if I could get a photocopy (back then they where called Xerox photocopies). His response: “You know there’s a musician in L.A. (Victor Milikoff) would transcribed all of my sols on my recordings. -- I said, “Far out, Pat”, thinking to myself, what a treasure of guitar knowledge must be locked in those transcriptions. Well, what Pat said next totally blew my mind, and totally caught me off guard. He said, “You want them?” – [(pregnant)Pause, I now know where the term, “DuH” came from] “Oh, ah, hmmm.” I didn’t know how to respond because I figured something as valuable as Pat’s solos written down would have to be quite costly and I only had a few bucks left over from the lesson. I knew I would walk to L.A. for Pat’s “Sunny” solo. So, the first words out of my mouth were, “Sure Pat, but how much would it cost for each solo?” His next response is what I base my impressions of Pat’s generosity: “Nothing, just pay for the photocopies.” - In fact, he said, “Come on let’s go across the street and get them copied.” Pat proceeded to take out copies all of his solo transcriptions at that point in time (about 1973 to 1975). We then went across the street to the Xerox place and left the copies there to be made and Pat then invited me to a coffee shop down the block. While we waited for the copies we discussed music, his system, his philosophy, and life in general over coffee. Here I was in guitar heaven: a 23-24 year old green Jazz guitarist having coffee and chatting about philosophy, life, and music with my idol, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) living Jazz guitarist in the world; I was definitely in guitar heaven in NYC. This is Pat Martino, he took his time, energy and spirit to help a young unknown guitarist he had only just met a few weeks prior -- but a relationship grew out of my interest in his interest -- which was his approach. I really know remember if we spent more time with his system or just as many hours (or more) talking about philosophy, et. al. I have to mention that while at Pat’s house I met many musicians who were recording with Pat in those years: Billy Hart, Will Lee, Mel Goldstein, and others -- all wonderful human beings, willing readily to help a young musician. Anyone interested in Pat’s method can go this his website and all of his “Matrixes” are available free: patmartino There is so much more I can tell about my experience with Pat Martino. Much of it is engrained in my heart, mind and soul. I would be glad to tell more later if anyone wishes. I also studied with the following guitarists: Larry Lucie in NYC (Larry was Louie Armstrong’s guitarist) Barry Galbraith (recorded with many Jazz artists) Jimmy DíAngelis (studied under Chuck Wayne) Rob Yelin (Chord Melody Master) I will post a separate piece on Rob)
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 19:45:30 +0000
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