Yes you are right there. Jethro Tull is an amazing band lead by an extremely talented and creative composer/performer named Ian Anderson.
Martin and the others wrote their parts and deserve lots of credit as well. But they would have been nothing without Ian. Ian can write incredible pieces of music extremely fast and seemingly effortlessly. Just read how quickly Thick as a Brick was written and recorded to get a sense of it.
A forgotten gem of an LP is Benefit when the band was finding its way. One guy who ranks albums rated it his favorite FWIW. Not sure I agree with that but it was a great album.
Weirdly, Ian Anderson looks like the twin brother separated at birth from Derek Dick (aka “Fish”) who was the frontman for Marillion but separated for a solo career and more creative endeavors. Although they look alike in their respective 60s, their discographies show similar artistic bents — amazing poetic lyrics, driving but complex melodies, and great showmanship.
For anyone reading this thread, go into the Ian Anderson discography on Spotify or your other streaming service and listen to it, with lyrics. You’ll be amazed.
Benefit was a great album.
When asked in an interview what was his motivation to play the flute, I recall Ian Anderson saying that he learned how to play the flute because, well, just because he wanted to learn how to play it. End of story.
Benefit. Ah, yes. I really dug the song “Teacher”.