Pat Martino

爵士吉他手Pat Martino是音樂史上神奇的不死鳥，他的奮斗故事與華盛頓勇于承認(rèn)砍倒櫻桃樹、將公看魚逆水上游等事跡完全不惶多讓。事情是這樣的，一九八○年，Pat Martino動了割除腦瘤的手術(shù)，手術(shù)百分之九十九成功，但那百分之一的失誤卻導(dǎo)致了一個奇怪的后遺癥。Martino在術(shù)后發(fā)現(xiàn)自己不會彈吉他了，數(shù)十年的演奏經(jīng)驗與技巧突然變成空白，得了「吉他失憶癥」。之后，Martino靠著不斷聆聽過去自己的錄音，花了好幾年的時間一點一滴的累積，終于把自己的吉他技巧努力再找回來。直到一九八七年，Martino選擇了紐奧良的Mardi Gras慶典時重出江湖。這樣的一段歷程讓他更加珍惜擁有音樂的日子，也值得所有失志的朋友相互勉勵。Pat Martino一向欣賞前輩Wes Montgomery的演奏，事實上，在Martino手術(shù)后努力找回吉他演奏記憶的日子里，他除了聆聽自己過去的錄音之外，練得最多的就屬Montgomery的曲子，畢竟自己年輕時最欣賞的就是他。Martino自己也說，他在錄音時就把自己的心情調(diào)整到兒童模式，用一種孺慕之情把記憶中Montgomery的聲音給演奏出來。
by Scott Yanow
One of the most original of the jazz-based guitarists to emerge in the 1960s, Pat Martino made a remarkable comeback after brain surgery in 1980 to correct an aneurysm caused him to lose his memory and completely forget how to play. It took years, but he regained his ability, partly by listening to his older records. Martino began playing professionally when he was 15. He worked early on with groups led by Willis Jackson, Red Holloway, and a series of organists, including Don Patterson, Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Richard Groove Holmes, and Jimmy McGriff. After playing with John Handy (1966), he started leading his own bands and heading sessions for Prestige, Muse, and Warner Bros. that found him welcoming the influences of avant-garde jazz, rock, pop, and world music into his advanced hard bop style. After the operation, Martino did not resume playing until 1984, making his recording comeback with 1987s The Return. Although not as active as earlier, Pat Martino has regained his earlier form, recording again for Muse and Evidence; he later signed with Blue Note, issuing All Sides Now in 1996, followed two years later by Stone Blue and in 1998 by Fire Dance. In 2001 Martino released a live album recorded at Yoshis in California. Two years later he teamed with saxophonist Joe Lovano for Think Tank. Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery appeared on Blue Note in 2006.