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| James Richard Martin (1949-2021) |
A memorial for James (Richard) Martin (September 19, 1949 - January 12, 2021), jazz drummer, of Ft. Myers FL was held Saturday, January 23, 2021 at United Church of Christ, 5200 Crayton Rd, Naples, FL 34103. There was an outdoor memorial gathering and musical tribute from friends. Attendance required masks. The memorial was arranged by Dan Heck who frequently shared the stage with James in SW Florida. Fellow performers Rebecca Richardson, Stuart Shelton , Michael Ross and James Kerwin contributed to the music.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
The Wine Loft of Naples
Stu Shelton Trio
Stu Shelton
Dan Heck
James Martin
A FaceBook post by his sister Sandy Norman:
My big brother. The world knew him as James...but to me, he was always Jimmie. The family nut! The class clown who was always getting in trouble at school...not because he was mean or bad, but because of his humor and antics. He was 13 years old when I was born and I always looked up to him. I thought he hung the moon.....literally. When I was learning to spell and read, my "Dimmie" taught me that G-R-A-N-T-S spelled WOOLWORTHS....and no one could convince me otherwise! He played so many pranks on people...as payback, his boss once paid him his weekly salary, all in dimes, in a bottle of syrup! I remember him having a date that night and he was frantic trying to wash and clean all those coins before he left! Speaking of dates, I was his date bait! He took me everywhere with him (usually in a convertible!) to pick up chicks, but I never did quite understand why I didn't get to go on the date, too!
Jimmie was a natural musician. He was never taught how to play. The rhythms just naturally flowed from his body. I was barely old enough to remember his first band in high school, but I do remember that my parents were adamant that he wear his hair cut short. To solve this, my brother went out and bought a wig to wear whenever his band had a gig! Most young musician's careers don't last beyond their twenties, but he was the exception! His talent took him worldwide. He has played with so many great artists, and at so many grand places. My husband and I went to Las Vegas when he was playing at the Bellagio. I was so proud! I think the gig he was most proud of, was in England where the Royal Family was in attendance...Prince William was a small boy! I don't know how many albums my brother has been recorded on, and he probably couldn't tell you either...but "I knew him when"...and I still have his first record!
Lastly, I cannot forget my brother's love of cars! That is something he got from our Dad! Jimmie always drove flashy cars. In 1969, he and our father had matching Corvette's. I think his 'Vette was the only American model he ever owned. Jimmie's passion was old European cars. If I had to guess, 95% of the ones he owned were convertibles and he did 95% of the maintenance and restorations on them himself! I remember when he bought his Alpine Sunbeam. Oh my gosh, that was a piece of junk and he drove it daily! But what a gem it was so many YEARS later when he finished it! He would pour so much love and money into his cars, but I never understood why he never would fill up his gas tank! For whatever reason, it never seemed to bother him when he would have to pull out his gas can and walk to the nearest gas station.
Goodbye to my larger than life big brother...rest in peace.
My big brother. The world knew him as James...but to me, he was always Jimmie. The family nut! The class clown who was always getting in trouble at school...not because he was mean or bad, but because of his humor and antics. He was 13 years old when I was born and I always looked up to him. I thought he hung the moon.....literally. When I was learning to spell and read, my "Dimmie" taught me that G-R-A-N-T-S spelled WOOLWORTHS....and no one could convince me otherwise! He played so many pranks on people...as payback, his boss once paid him his weekly salary, all in dimes, in a bottle of syrup! I remember him having a date that night and he was frantic trying to wash and clean all those coins before he left! Speaking of dates, I was his date bait! He took me everywhere with him (usually in a convertible!) to pick up chicks, but I never did quite understand why I didn't get to go on the date, too!
Jimmie was a natural musician. He was never taught how to play. The rhythms just naturally flowed from his body. I was barely old enough to remember his first band in high school, but I do remember that my parents were adamant that he wear his hair cut short. To solve this, my brother went out and bought a wig to wear whenever his band had a gig! Most young musician's careers don't last beyond their twenties, but he was the exception! His talent took him worldwide. He has played with so many great artists, and at so many grand places. My husband and I went to Las Vegas when he was playing at the Bellagio. I was so proud! I think the gig he was most proud of, was in England where the Royal Family was in attendance...Prince William was a small boy! I don't know how many albums my brother has been recorded on, and he probably couldn't tell you either...but "I knew him when"...and I still have his first record!
Lastly, I cannot forget my brother's love of cars! That is something he got from our Dad! Jimmie always drove flashy cars. In 1969, he and our father had matching Corvette's. I think his 'Vette was the only American model he ever owned. Jimmie's passion was old European cars. If I had to guess, 95% of the ones he owned were convertibles and he did 95% of the maintenance and restorations on them himself! I remember when he bought his Alpine Sunbeam. Oh my gosh, that was a piece of junk and he drove it daily! But what a gem it was so many YEARS later when he finished it! He would pour so much love and money into his cars, but I never understood why he never would fill up his gas tank! For whatever reason, it never seemed to bother him when he would have to pull out his gas can and walk to the nearest gas station.
Goodbye to my larger than life big brother...rest in peace.
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February 3, 2019
Stu Shelton Trio at Wine Loft in Naples
It didn't have time this morning to say much about my friend James Martin , I just wanted his friends to know what happened. I feel compelled to share a bit more now if for no other reason than for my own therapy on what has been an incredibly difficult day. But I also think people should know who left us yesterday. James was a ridiculously natural musician. Music poured out of him. He reacted to everything you played, often perfectly, always musically, often with humor, and NEVER without taste. If Dexter Gordon had played drums, he'd have played exactly like James. I spoke with James about Dexter one time and James said he got off the bandstand one night in Europe someplace, I forget where, and Dexter was sitting at the bar, and turned to him and said "my compliments". James was so full of passion, energy, JOY!, so much fucking joy, when he played. He listened so effortlessly, answers to your musical phrases were so obvious to him, and a wink and a "hehehe" when you turned around after a perfectly timed musical response from him. On top of all that musicality, James was a hell of a good guy. I met him in 2005. Man he was a great friend and mentor to me. We weren't just bandmates, but became really great friends. I feel so lucky to have been his friend. He was so supportive of me. He was family to me. He was also funny as hell, had so many great stories, lit up a room when he was playing, and lit up a room when he was telling a story. We had him over the house a few times for dinners and parties. He rode out Irma with us at my mom's house. He was always the perfect picture of class, personality, a gentleman, but with a wild, funny, vibrant personality that you couldn't help but love. My life is better for having known him and my playing is better for having played with him. I will miss him so much I can't put it into words, but I hope my words above are a small glimpse of the amazing guy that left us yesterday. Man I miss him so much already......so much....i know a lot of you guys do to. What a horrible day it's been....
James was my favorite drummer and I loved every moment we played together. Rest in peace James. Love you brother, Michael Gillis
ReplyDeleteI'm a piano guy in Atlanta who worked with James years ago when he was here--the comments above capture him exactly, though it was years--decades--ago. Someone asked about him and I did a quick search and found this site. Thanks to you all who wrote tributes. So sorry he's gone--not just a wonderful musician but a happy and positive spirit.
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