From the age of sixteen through to nineteen he played his first gigs with jazz funk bands including Marie Murphy’s Latin Jazz Quartet. Also in this period he met Spencer Cozens and Dominic Miller who became lifelong friends. From 1986 he began playing on sessions with Dominic Miller including a tune he had written on the Nigel Kennedy album “Let Loose”, also sessions with Mike McEvory (producer/composer). Live in Concert (John Martyn & Band at Camden Palace Theatre, London, 23 November 1984) (2001) (DVD release of 1986 Live from London; re-issued Live at the Camden Palace Theatre London 1984 (2004) & Live from the Camden Palace (2012)) Dealing with “Live At Leeds” and excessive touring drove Martyn to take a sabbatical for most of 1976, spending 4 fruitful months in Jamaica (“Like Glasgow transported to paradise!”) where the Island Records connection was utilised and Martyn recorded with Burning Spear’s Max Romeo and dub master Lee ‘Scratch Perry.’ Relying increasingly on his Gibson S.G. electric guitar Martyn’s playing was highly inventive and beguilingly controlled style reminiscent of Thelonious Monk’s revolutionary musical phrasing, and his distinctive vocal delivery and painfully honest lyrics, “Grace And Danger” became a stunning exposition of confusion, heartache, love and remorse. At the moment I am having lots of fun writing music with Spencer and friends and am looking forward to this tour with John.”

An expanded four disc edition of the 1990 album ‘The Apprentice’ by late John Martyn. With a career that had begun in the late 1960s and had produced a succession of excellent albums throughout the 70s and 80s, Martyn recorded ‘The Apprentice’ at the end of 1989 at a studio in Glasgow working with musicians including Foster Patterson (keyboards), Dave Taif-Ball (bass) and Aran Ahmun (drums) and guest saxophonist Andy Shepherd. His obituary in The Times states that "The record's dubby, echoing soundscapes have been claimed as the forerunner of the 'trip-hop' style that emerged in the 1990s."

Credits (12)

The wild man of folk dies aged 60". The Independent. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022 . Retrieved 9 July 2020. His first recording with John was the album “Glorious Fool” on which he worked with Phil Collins, Max Middleton, and Eric Clapton. He then went on to play on the albums “Well Kept Secret”, “Sapphire”, “Piece By Piece”, “Philentropy” and the early stages of “The Apprentice.” The resulting album was a well-crafted work which was well received by critics and fans alike. To promote the album, Martyn embarked on a UK tour which included a series of concerts at The Shaw Theatre in London. The concert on 31st March 1990 was filmed and recorded, and featured special guest David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. a b "Graeme Thomson on John Martyn's "lifelong grudges and huge, messy explosion of records" ". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021 . Retrieved 13 July 2020. Few musicians have been held in such high esteem by critics and fans alike since the late 60’s without converting their cult status into commercial success, but John Martyn is one such example.

The Apprentice in Concert (John Martyn & Band with Dave Gilmour at Shaw Theatre, London, 31 March 1990) (2006) (DVD release of 1990 The Apprentice Tour) As well as signalling John Martyn’s return to the fray, The Apprentice marks the end of a lengthy association with Island Records. Yet neither break seems to have done him any harm. He is now what he’s always been: a master of his craft, a class act. That’s rare indeed.****Martyn later said that it was “Probably the most specific piece of autobiography I’ve written. Some people keep diaries, I make records.” However, only after extreme pressure from Martyn did it finally achieve a release in October 1980, and give him the exorcism he needed. In the late 1980’s Martyn would cite this album as his favourite even though it had been difficult to make. By 1970 Martyn had developed a wholly original and idiosyncratic sound: acoustic guitar run through a fuzzbox, phase shifter and Echoplex. This sound was first apparent on Stormbringer! released in February 1970. denotes a release that did not chart. Note: the 2009 reissue of Solid Air reached 88 in the UK chart.

Martyn died on 29 January 2009, at a hospital in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, [30] from acute respiratory distress syndrome. He had been living in Thomastown with his partner Theresa Walsh. Martyn's health was affected by his life-long abuse of drugs and alcohol. He was survived by his partner and his children, Mhairi, Wesley and Spencer McGeachy. [31] Tributes [ edit ] Easing in with acoustic numbers it takes a wee while for it to all come together, the addition of full band, then guest artist etc. ‘May You Never’ feels too early in the set, and a little rushed, but big heavy numbers like ‘Dealer’, ‘Big Muff’, ‘Johnny Too Bad’ and even ‘John Wayne’ have an unexpected sense of presence about them that other listeners will hopefully find as rewarding as I did. Where, previously, the angry guttural howls of songs ‘Big Muff’ implied what they were about here I appreciate what the clearer words are actually about. Similarly, as the songs progress across the two records, the improvisations stretch out, with some evocative arrangements. a b c d "John Martyn: Pioneering singer-songwriter who blended folk with jazz and played with Eric Clapton and Dave Gilmour – Obituaries – News". The Independent. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022 . Retrieved 16 August 2015. a b "John Martyn: Heaven can wait". The Independent. 5 May 2004. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022.As if to continue the film theme John has long admired the American actor and bass baritone Paul Robeson and The River is inspired by Robeson’s acclaimed performance of Ol’ Man River in the 1936 film version of Show Boat. Due to his father’s involvement and love of jazz, the first music Miles listened to was jazz. Later influences developed more specifically in bands and players, like Miles Davis, Weather Report, Egberto Gismonti, Al Jarreau, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny and the late Jaco Pastorius.

To mark Martyn's 60th birthday, Island released a 4 CD boxed set, Ain't No Saint, on 1 September 2008. The set includes unreleased studio material and rare live recordings. The songs can tend to be a little repetitive within themselves, mantras with a groove, ‘Hold Me’ being one, as instruments and sound effects spill in and out gently. Here Martyn takes a rare guitar solo, the style somewhat classic in style despite being played on an electric. Once more the song is a promise, one that nobody else is needed but this new love and the life he now leads. Livening things up with jazzy Latino dance rhythms is ‘Upo’, Martyn’s voice ranging across the breadth of keen crooning, heavy reverberated intonations and scatting.John Martyn's final recordings to be released". The Guardian. 27 April 2011 . Retrieved 19 July 2020. If 1990s The Apprentice was a landmark for John Martyn, it was primarily because Island Records’ rejection of it even after he had re-recorded it at his own expense marked the end of his two-decade tenure at the label. With hindsight, it’s hard to fathom why they passed on a record later seen as a return to form after some decidedly uneven 80s output, but John Hillarby’s liner notes for this three CD plus DVD clamshell box reissues are revealing. Apparently,the label had designs on re-styling Martyn as the next Chris Rea – a fool’s errand, really, given his notorious recalcitrance and reputation as a stylistic moving target. Following Martyn's death, Rolling Stone lauded his " progressive folk invention and improvising sorcery". [32] Friend and collaborator Phil Collins paid tribute to him, saying, "John's passing is terribly, terribly sad. I had worked with and known him since the late 1970s and he was a great friend. He was uncompromising, which made him infuriating to some people, but he was unique and we'll never see the likes of him again. I loved him dearly and will miss him very much." [33] After the iconoclasm of “Inside Out” which critics referred to as ‘A cosmic foray’ and ‘Music from inner space’ and which won Martyn a golden disc from Montreux, “Sunday’s Child”, released in January 1975, marked a return to the conventional song format, producing songs of considerable contrasts from the down home boogie of ‘Clutches,’ (owing more than a passing nod to Little Feat’s Lowell George), to the traditional folk of ‘Spencer The Rover.’ The overall feel of the album is one of contentment and Martyn called it “The Family Album, very happy, purely romantic… A nice period,” an impression borne out by ‘My Baby Girl’, which featured Beverley on vocals for the last time.