Frank Martin infuses the Advanced Combo I with the professionalism and creativity he is so famous and beloved for.
Frank Martin is a great performer and a wonderful teacher. A wide range of compositional techniques and musical devices are explored and applied to class assignments including: the use of different rhythmic feels and grooves; reharmonization; form changes; innovative intros, outros, codas and vamps; and alterations to melody and lyrics. Students sing and/or play selected repertoire in a variety of styles and learn how to make even the most common standards sound new. Read feature article about Frank Martin
In the News
Frank Martin Keyboard virtuoso/arranger/musical director Frank Martin has amassed a very impressive track record working with world-class performers in a diverse array of musical styles. In the pop arena, Martin has performed and/or recorded with stars that include Sting, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Chris Isaak, Andrea Bocelli, Cheryl Crow, Philip Bailey, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Madonna and Ricki Martin. In the jazz world, his performance credits include Flora Purim & Airto Moriera, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Dizzy Gilespie, Mel Torme, Bobby McFerrin, John Handy, Ramsey Lewis, Joe Farrell and the Slide Hampton Big Band. Orchestra performances have included concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and the “Orchestra of St. Lukes” (New York Philharmonic Orchestra).
As a producer, he has worked with high-profile artists such as Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin’s “Voicestra,” SoVoSo,” Joey DeFrancesco and Alex Acuña, Jazz guitarist Mimi Fox, vocalist Angela Bofill and the Turtle Island String Quartet. As musical director, he has toured with such artists as Patti Austin, Angela Bofill, Narada Michael Walden, Mickey Thomas, Roy Ayres, and Clarence Clemens. Currently, Martin is on staff at the University of California in Berkeley as well as the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California. He is in demand as a clinician both in the United States and in Europe.
Great musicians make What’s New, Pussycat? come alive and help Lisa B keep the atmosphere fun and swinging. Ben Flint’s keyboards on the first two tracks help set the tone, and Frank Martin’s clever piano playing on the rest of the disc complements Lisa B’s singing perfectly (check out the electric piano in “Cha Cha de la Gata (Kitty-Cat Cha)”). The recording is vibrant and detailed. What’s New Pussycat? is fun, impressively played and sung, and, yes, very sexy.” SoundstageAV.com, Joseph Taylor
Frank Martin’s “In the Pocket” class on rhythm is super-fun. You’ll be on your feet and moving. Frank gives enough handouts that you’ll have two years’ worth of practice materials by the end of the class. Student on yelp.com 2009
Multi-Platinum record winner, composer/keyboardist Frank Martin has performed his edgy-jazz style with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Sting and Elton John. Count on hearing a jazz trio of the highest of caliber — pushing the limits of harmony and improvisation in modern jazz expressions. http://www.sanjosejazz.org
Frank Martin’s clever piano playing on the rest of the disc complements Lisa B’s singing perfectly (check out the electric piano in ‘Cha Cha de la Gata (Kitty-Cat Cha)’). The recording is vibrant and detailed. ‘What’s New Pussycat?’ is fun, impressively played and sung, and, yes, very sexy.” Radio stations across the country have jumped on the record. www.jazz review.com
Convergence by Ian Dogole & Hemispheres offers up a kaleidoscopic brew of innovative, adventurous Jazz spiced with flavors from around the globe. Blending African, Middle Eastern, Asian and South American instruments with more traditional Jazz instrumentation and song forms, percussionist Ian Dogole, along with Grammy-nominated woodwind virtuosi Paul McCandless (with Oregon) and Sheldon Brown (formerly with Omar Sosa), bassist/flutist Bill Douglass (with Marian McPartland and Mose Allison), and Frank Martin take their listeners on an unforgettable aural journey that it is simply out of this world. www.jazzheads.com
Keyboard virtuoso/arranger/musical director Frank Martin has amassed a very impressive track record working with world-class performers in a diverse array … www.jazzheads.com
“Jazzmérica,” is produced by three-time Grammy nominee Wayne Wallace and boasts an all-star band including Frank Martin, John Santos, Ricardo Peixoto, Michael Spiro, Paul Van Wangeningen, David Belove, Edgardo Cambón, Melecio Magdaluyo and many others.
Convergence by Ian Dogole & Hemispheres offers up a kaleidoscopic brew of innovative, adventurous Jazz spiced with flavors from around the globe. Blending African, Middle Eastern, Asian and South American instruments with more traditional Jazz instrumentation and song forms, percussionist Ian Dogole, along with Grammy-nominated woodwind virtuosi Paul McCandless (with Oregon) and Sheldon Brown (formerly with Omar Sosa), bassist/flutist Bill Douglass (with Marian McPartland and Mose Allison), and Frank Martin take their listeners on an unforgettable aural journey that it is simply out of this world. www.jazzheads.com
Keyboard virtuoso/arranger/musical director Frank Martin has amassed a very impressive track record working with world-class performers in a diverse array … www.jazzheads.com
Read feature article about Frank Martin
