Here and Now!: The Autobiography of Pat Martino

by Pat Martino, Bill Milkowski

By age 16, Pat Martino was already working as a member of R&B star Lloyd Price's touring musical revue. By age 18, Martino moved to Harlem, where he quickly earned a reputation as a hard-bopping six-stringer with formidable chops through a series of apprenticeships with the likes of honking tenor saxophonist Willis “Gaitor Tail” Jackson and Hammond B-3 organ master Jack McDuff. Martino made his auspicious debut as a leader at age 22 with 1967's El Hombre on Prestige and followed with a string of potent recordings for the label that further established him as one of the most distinctive guitar voices on the jazz scene.

Then, at the peak of his powers, the bottom fell out. In 1980, he underwent surgery as the result of a nearly fatal brain aneurysm. The surgery left him without any memory of the guitar or his musical career. From that point, Martino undertook the long process of recovery, eventually learning how to play the guitar again; but more important, learning to transcend the instrument itself and live his life completely in the moment.

More than just the remarkable story of one of the most original and profoundly influential guitarists in jazz history, this extraordinarily revealing autobiography is also a survival manual, of sorts, in overcoming incredible adversity and learning to live in the here and now.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm. I finished and enjoyed it. There are the main autobiography portion and three appendices. I must study appendix 3, his guitar lesson. My first reading of it proved its intrigue, but I need to look again with my guitar in hand.

[Tom Choi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an autobiography from a great jazz master - and the miraculous story of how an undiagnosed brain affliction led to a debilitating aneurysm that led to amnesia, crippling depression, and recovery- but so much more. Pat Martino's interest is not in just speaking of his heroic medical story or recounting his laurels of former child prodigy to full mastery, but to speak up about his spiritual and emotional growth, from the struggles he underwent before the aneurysm to the spiritual, mental, and physical rebirth he underwent – twice! – from physical recovery to emotional recovery through love and compassion. This book is a sober and eloquent tale of a spiritual and philosophical journey. Martino's own story is peppered with passages from his friends, fellow musicians, admirers, and family, that illustrates the contrast and harmony between the individual the world around him/her.

The book ends with an interview with Martino's collaborators on the documentary film, Martino Unleashed, with provides more insights into his sense of self as reflected in science and art, a long section of reminiscences and tributes from additional musical collaborators (mostly guitarists), and a bonus for other guitarists: a masterclass of Martino's original insight into guitar-based music theory. It's kind of brilliant and astounding in its simplicity: the full-range of the guitar can be understood in terms of 2 foundational "clusters": augmented and diminished patterns that can be endlessly reshaped to provide different points of understanding and improvisation.

This is an original and experimental autobiography in the spirit of its author: an original voice and experimental genius of jazz guitar music. I ended up with a small list of inspiring quotes, modern aphorisms from a master thinker.

[Randall Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

pat plays differently from others - lots of steady eight notes - and i hoped to love this book but i can't imagine giving it five stars because it taught me very little about music. about the only thing i learned was that pat was seen practicing most of the time - that is why he is so good. but most great players from mozart to roger federer put in 10,000 hours to become incredible and so pat is no different - thus there may be no short cuts. most of the book was of little use EXCEPT it helped create a timeline to pat's work - it taught me what was happening in pat's life around the time of all his records and that was very helpful. the discography was also very helpful, especially in order to find the cds he did as a sideman.

basically if you want to learn more about pat - transcribe him yourself with "the amazing slow downer" app on your iphone and buy his cds, educational video's, and music books. i'm a bit hardcore and as such i read EVERYTHING on someone i really like if case there is something deeply useful there.

[Tonnie van der Heide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for lovers of modern jazz guitar.

[Sean Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

The content is lacking in some details. I would like to know more specifics about guitars used on recordings and inner workings of Pat's guitar-centric harmonic theory.

[dv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most part of this book is a kind of voyeuristic (and the honest question should be: why did I buy it?) travel through Martino's well known (at least in the jazz listeners realm) path through brain disease and recovery, complete with words by his brain surgeon. All in all, the reading experience is not much revealing nor about the jazz world nor about the processes of learning and re-learning a complex craft as musicianship. But the final few pages of the books are dense with contents that could inspire a guitarist's practice for quite a long time.

[Bookcat88 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short autobiography is a must read for fans of the late Pat Martino. As one of the worlds greatest jazz guitarists, Martino was a true innovator who
influenced many other jazz guitarists and musicians as he created his very own unique sound and style. He also overcame incredible odds by surviving a near fatal brain aneurysm, ultimately coming back to music and re-learning the guitar. It is a fascinating story and includes commentaries from fellow musicians as well as Martino’s mathematical analysis of the guitar and how he teaches music/guitar theory.

[Christopher Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story about one of the most influential and interesting jazz guitar players.
RIP, Pat.

[Darek Asanowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible story of an incredible human, told in his own words.

[JDK1962 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, though I wasn't a huge fan of some of the "expanded consciousness" language (of course, it's his autobiography, so he's free to tell the story how he likes). Some of the material at the back (e.g., website guestbook entries) felt more like filler.