Posted on 11/03/2021 12:15:04 PM PDT by Kid Shelleen
Pat Martino, a jazz guitarist revered for the fluid precision and blistering speed of his playing — both before and after he was forced to relearn the instrument following a mid-career brain aneurysm — died on Monday. He was 77 years old.
His death was announced on Facebook by his longtime manager, Joseph Donofrio. Martino, born Patrick Azzara, died after a long illness in the South Philadelphia row home formerly owned by his parents, where he moved in 1980 after undergoing neurosurgery that saved his life — at the near-total cost of his memory. The guitarist had been suffering from a chronic respiratory disorder since 2018, breathing with oxygen support and unable to play since a tour of Italy that November. He is survived by his wife, Ayako.
(Excerpt) Read more at downbeat.com ...
My wife and I went to see him at the Blue Note in Fukuoka , Japan about 15 years ago . It was just after he released Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery . I got an aisle seat near the dressing room . I turn my head to the right and I see him walking out on his way to the stage . Reached out my hand to shake his and he shook it . Phenomenal performance . R.I.P.
RIP.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.