Joe Martin is one of the most sought-after bassists on the current New York City jazz scene. Known for his warm sound, facile ear, harmonic flexibility, and lyrical solos, he has performed with a diverse range of musicians. Most recently he has been an integral member of Kurt Rosenwinkel’s group, documented on a forthcoming live recording from the Village Vanguard. He has also performed with Andy Bey, Vinicius Cantuaria, Bill Charlap, Art Farmer, Aaron Goldberg, Jon Gordon, Ari Hoenig, Joel Frahm, Ethan Iverson, Guillermo Klein, Ivan Lins, Lionel Loueke, Bill McHenry, John McNeil, Brad Mehldau, Mingus Big Band, Ben Monder, Jane Monheit, Jean-Michel Pilc, Chris Potter, Maria Schneider, Jaleel Shaw, Grady Tate, Mark Turner, Michael Weiss, and many others. Continuous musical dialogue amongst great musicians is a major source of inspiration for Joe.   Composition is another indispensable component to Joe’s musical world. A strong melodic sense and the use of the bass part as both function and counterpoint are apparent in his writing. His debut CD Passage, which features Mark Turner, Kevin Hays, and Jorge Rossy, received much acclaim from critics and musicians alike. He leads gigs regularly in New York City at clubs including The Jazz Gallery, Smoke,  and Smalls. He has also toured with his band in Italy. Born in Kansas City in 1970, Joe grew up surrounded by music in Pella, Iowa. His father, a retired music history professor, was clarinetist with the Des Moines Symphony for 28 years, and his mother, a librarian by profession, is an amateur violinist. His younger brother Phil is a drummer who resides in Chicago. He listened regularly to his parents’ extensive classical music collection, which also included records by Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and George Shearing. His grandfather was a jazz pianist who played nightclub and dance gigs in Joplin, Missouri. On family visits, his grandfather taught him many of the great American standards. Growing up in this nourishing musical environment gave Joe his deep love and respect for all music. Joe began his musical studies on cello at age seven. He also played trumpet in his school band. At age fifteen he picked up the electric bass and with encouragement from his parents, band director, and Des Moines bassist Susie Miget, took the instrument home for the summer. He felt an immediate rapport with the bass, playing by ear and learning bass lines he heard on the radio. Initially drawn to progressive rock, he also listened to fusion and funk players like Stanley Clarke, Ralphe Armstrong, Larry Graham, and Jaco Pastorious, By the end of high school he had also begun playing the string bass and listening to Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro, and Ron Carter. Joe attended DePaul University in Chicago on an academic scholarship, but continued his bass study with Larry Gray, with whom he studied both classical and jazz. After two years he craved a more intensive jazz environment and transferred to William Paterson College in New Jersey, where he studied with Todd Coolman, Rufus Reid, and Harold Mabern. During this period he frequented New York City jazz clubs and heard veteran bassists like Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Ray Drummond, George Mraz as well as younger players like Bob Hurst, Larry Grenadier, Christian McBride, and Peter Washington. Joe earned a Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude in 1994 and subsequently moved to New York City. Since then, the experience he has gained performing with jazz legends, as well as his contemporaries, continues to further his growth and maturity as a musician. Jerome Sabbagh Pogo Sunnyside, 2007 Jon Gordon  The Things You Are   Artist Share, 2006 Gilad Hekselman  Split Life Smalls Records, 2006 Scott Feiner  Pandeiro Jazz  2006                Jane Monheit Very Best Of Jane Monheit N-Coded Music, 2005 Jerome Sabbagh  North   FSNT, 2004 Ari Ambrose  Jazmin   Steeplechase, 2003 Jane Monheit  In The Sun   N-Coded Music 2002 Ari Ambrose  Early Song   Steeplechase, 2001 Magali Soriau  Birdland Sessions   Koch Jazz, 2000 Jill Seifers  The Waiting   FSNT, 1999 Ari Ambrose  Cyclic Episode   Steeplechase, 1999 International Hashva Orchestra  All's Well  TCB 1999 Kurt Rosenwinkel  Intuit   Criss Cross Records, 1998 Nat Su  The J Way   FSNT, 1998 Steve Hall  Hall Things   DSM, 1998 Jon Gordon  Along The Way   Criss Cross Records, 1997 Dan Faulk  Spirits In The Night   FSNT, 1997 Michael Leonhart  Glub Glub Vol. 11  Sunnyside, 1997 Mike Rud  Whyte Avenue   Jazz Focus, 1997 Tomoko Ohno Powder Blue Tokuma Records, 1997 John Stetch  Stetchin' Out   Terra Nova, 1996 John Stetch  Kolomeyka Fantasy   Global Village, 1996 Perico Sambeat  Ademuz   FSNT, 1995 International Hashva Orchestra   TCB, 1995 Michael Leonhart  Aardvark Poses  Sunnyside Records, 1995