Pat Martino Back at the Top
A strong, all-original session proving Martino's comeback was no fluke.
The Maker arrives roughly a decade after Pat Martino's remarkable return to playing following a serious brain aneurysm that had left him unable to recognize his own guitar. By 1994 he was well into the second act of his career, and this record shows a player fully restored to the fluency that made him a major voice in the 1960s, when he recorded for Prestige and Blue Note.
What stands out is the material. Every track is an original Martino composition, which means the album is a direct window onto his writing rather than a set of standards dressed up in his phrasing. His lines are clean and purposeful, with the bebop-rooted vocabulary intact and the tone warm without being sentimental. The trio format with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe Bonadio on drums gives him room to stretch, and Johnson in particular keeps things supple underneath him.
Where does it sit? This is not the place to start with Martino, and it is not his defining statement. It is a solid, well-played late-period session for listeners already interested in his work, and critics responded in kind. AllMusic called it a highly recommended session and more proof that the master was back, and the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings praised it as a strong set from an active period. For a fan who wants to hear what he sounded like after the comeback, it is an easy recommendation.
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