Another nice interview today, this time with guitarist Pat Martino.

One of the most original of the jazz-based guitarists to emerge in the 1960s, Pat Martino made a remarkable comeback after brain surgery in 1980 to correct an aneurysm caused him to lose his memory and completely forget how to play. It took years, but he regained his ability, partly by listening to his older records.

Martino began playing professionally when he was 15. He worked early on with groups led by Willis Jackson, Red Holloway, and a series of organists, including Don Patterson, Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, and Jimmy McGriff. After playing with John Handy (1966), he started leading his own bands and heading sessions for Prestige, Muse, and Warner Bros. that found him welcoming the influences of avant-garde jazz, rock, pop, and world music into his advanced hard bop style. After the operation, Martino did not resume playing until 1984, making his recording comeback with 1987′s The Return. Although not as active as earlier, Pat Martino has regained his earlier form, recording again for Muse and Evidence; he later signed with Blue Note, issuing All Sides Now in 1996, followed two years later by Stone Blue and in 1999 by Mission Accomplished.

His new album Remember: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery, was also inspired by his relationship with Wes, who was his hero and mentor for a period of time early on. Wes never played a note that didn’t come from a desire for expression of something deep in the jazz lexicon. And that is an inspiration that goes well beyond the “how to” of Wes’ innovative chord changes and sound on the guitar.

Listen here: Part 1, Part 2