This Musician STUNNED Me...Pat Martino a Guitar Giant

Rick, that's a wonderful tribute to Pat. Thank you. I'm the neuropsychologist who co-scripted and presented the Martino Unstrung documentary you talk about so generously. Pat and I established a great bond. He is beyond doubt one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. The musical genius was just a part of it.

After I graduated from GIT in 1980, I took over running the studio at the school and got to know all the faculty really well including Pat when he was around. One day Howard Roberts and Pat Hicks, the founders of GIT, approached me to ask if I would drive Pat Martino from his apartment to the hospital and from that day we started an amazing friendship. I took every chance to drive him around whenever he needed a ride. Those years 1980, 81 + 82 were tough times for him. I'll never forget those precious moments. He never wasted time. He seemed to always be in the deepest of thoughts and never held back to voice them. Rest in peace Pat.

My stroke, thirteen years ago, was ischemic, a blood clot, as opposed to a brain bleed. You're less likely to get back any function from the damage of a clot stroke than you are from a bleed stroke, because the tissue just dies. My doctors were sort of confused as to why I could move my left hand at all at first, and when I told them that I was a guitar player, they told my friend to go get one of my guitars and bring it right now. They told me that the neural connections I had built up with my left hand in thirty years of guitar playing were a major factor in how quickly and to what extent I regained function. Long story short, after the stroke I never played at the level I played at before it, but the very fact that I did play helped with my recovery. I was thinking of Pat Martino the whole time.

One of my all time hero's. Living in LA, I went to see him one night at a club in Hollywood. It was filled with a small but appreciative crowd. During a break, he was sitting alone at the bar. I walked over, sat next to him and we had a brief chat. I was mindful that perhaps he wanted to be alone, so I kept it short Yes, I did that thing crush thing. I brought along my Pat Martino instruction book and and asked him to sign it...just like a kid. He opened it and signed it. I watched in amazement as he sculpted his signature in a perfectly balanced, symmetrical fashion that I can only describe as highly stylized calligraphy. We sat and chatted for a few more minutes. I thanked him and returned to my seat, thrilled, like a little kid.

Back in 1977 I asked a guitarist friend who he liked on guitar...he said "Pat Metheny" but I thought he said "Pat Martino", so I accidently got a Martino record and have been grateful ever since. Of course, I finally got Metheny's records and was also stunned. Both players are from planets other than Earth.

Martino had a left temporal lobectomy (due to severe epilepsy). The hippocampus, which is the structure which manages episodic memory formation and recall, lives in this region of the cerebral cortex and was damaged due to the surgery. Fine motor skills (aka muscle memory) are primarily the domain of the cerebellum - a completely difference structure in the back and underside of the of the cerebral cortex. What Martino had to do is relearn the connections to the fine motor regions - where those fine motor skills still remained. Essentially he had a huge leg up on a guitar newbie who will require years of training to build up those fine motor skills. Fascinating subject. RIP Pat.

Mr. Martino was/is in my humble opinion in the top ten greatest jazz fusion/jazz guitarists of all time. He was a genius. RIP - Mr. Martino. Rich Beato great job as usual.

Rick there are so many musicians a lot of us uninformed people do not know about. PLEASE KEEP ENLIGHTENING US ! Thank you Sir ! You are a wonderful teacher, father , person etc. THE world NEEDS more informed people of character to spread the word of WHAT is important.

I'm not a professional player, but I played guitar well, until I had a nminor stroke in 2014. I had to relearn to play guitar. I became a better player after my stroke. So, I profoundly understand what you are sharing about Pat Martino.

To this day, his masterclass I had the privilege to attend at GIT was the most inspiring lecture or speech I ever experienced. He did it twice. And his approach to visualizing the instrument is truly otherworldly. I remember him explaining how he realized (while relearning from himself) that everything is either a triangle w 3 connection points (augmented) or a square with 4 connection points (diminished). Still trying to figure it out :) RIP Pat.

This vid like so many vids Rick has done is so classy and genuine about his feelings for other great musicians and music in general. Whenever I’m tired of seeing so many ‘negative’ content in general, Rick Beato makes me find that, there is much more good people, we hardly hear about.

I recently had seizure caused by a blood clot in my brain and have had trouble with memory and guitar playing as a result. Not anything close to the extent Pat suffered, but I've been listening to his music a lot lately and thinking about what he went through. It's been incredibly inspiring and helpful in my journey back, but this has hit me quite hard. He's always been one of my favourite guitarists and his life was a huge gain for the music world.

Rick you should make series called "guitar legends that everybody should know" or something like that where you will make a complete breakdown of guitarist's life carrier, why he stands out etc. I am new in this world of legendary guitar masters and whenever i hear a new name like martino, everyone around me goes "a yes he was a walking legend, this is my favourite record ever" I think it will be really helpful for all of us, the uncultured sweins, to learn more a out these individuals from another world.

Not only did he not know how to play the guitar, he didn't even recognize his parents. I was lucky enough to attend a seminar of his a while back at Roosevelt University, and he was the most articulate, thought-provoking, humorous teacher; very slight, totally professorial-looking, you'd never guess he quit school at 15!

Mr. Beato, as a long time musician, and parent of two boys who I am currently teaching music to, I want to tip my hat to you for your respect and exposure of music that sadly seems forgotten today. Your analysis of theory combined with your obvious passion for music is nothing short of awe inspiring! Thank you for your videos! My boys and I sit and watch so many of your videos, and it is absolutely incredible to see the spark in their eye and to see their wheels turning and creation beginning after being exposed to some of the music that you are sharing with the world. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contribution to the education of the spirit and soul of music!

Pat Martino :" We'll be together again" with Gil Goldstein. My all-time favourite jazz-guitar album. Best phrasing I have ever heard, unparalleled before and after. Greetings from Antwerp, Belgium

My father was an orchestral percussionist and jazz drummer who had played a few gigs with Pat in the 70s in NYC and Atlantic City. Pat came out to our house in Long Island and I got to hear them jam, which was pretty incredible. Pat took some time to teach me a flat 5 flat 9 chord and showed me how it worked in a blues progression as I was more into blues rock than jazz at the age of 12. But that was probably my first real lesson in theory, and he was very generous with me. RIP.

I am so sad that Pat succumbed to his lasting illness of this past year. I’m incredibly fortunate to have had lessons from two amazing teachers. Dennis Sandole and then Pat Martino in the 90’s. Although I never followed up with my lessons with Pat, he took a liking to me and we shared many a wonderful sushi dinner at Sakura on 2nd near South Street in Philadephia. He was always joined by his charming Japanese wife . My dear friend Steve Beskarone played Bass for him back then which was quite surprise to me when I found out. Steve is an extraordinary bassist who can literally play any style with genuine feeling. Pat was humble above all else and charming and funny and overall one of best humans ever….. And then there was his playing and teaching. He slowed everything down for me in the the beginning matching my finger dexterity to my playing level. He never raised his voice and had the patience of a saint it seemed to me. I spoke with him about his miraculous recovery and his take on it was his hand muscles knew what to do before his brain did and by practicing it reconnected most of his damaged neurons by a kind of feedback. Made sense to me. I’m paraphrasing of course. What an absolute lovely and loving man. The worlds a little bit dimmer now that Pat has left the building. How lucky I am to have these memories and how sad I am to hear he is gone. But he struggled to hang on for a while and part of me is relieved knowing his pain and struggles are over. I’m praying for the joyful and peaceful repose of Pat’s soul. 🙏 May those who were close to him find grace and strength during this difficult time. Davide (Martella) Simpson

What a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to this amazing man. Thank you, Rick.

I grew up un South Jersey, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. My oldest brother is a jazz guitar player and became friends with Pat in the early seventies. I had the opportunity to go see Pat with my brother in a Philly club in the eighties. We had a table just a few feet from the stage. I was just beginning to play the guitar and boy was it an amazing experience to hear and to see.