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Pat Martino Quartet, Undeniable: Live at Blues Alley

This month guitarist Pat Martino is publishing his autobiography, titled Here and Now.

    by Karl Stark, Inquirer
    Published 

Jazz

Pat Martino Quartet

Undeniable: Live at Blues Alley

(HighNote ***1/2)

nolead ends This month guitarist Pat Martino is publishing his autobiography, titled Here and Now. Now 67, the South Philly native, after starting in organ jazz with the likes of Brother Jack McDuff and Trudy Pitts, establishing himself as a leading jazz guitarist of his generation, and then braving a brain aneurysm and relearning the guitar in the 1980s, returns to his organ-jazz roots here.

On these seven tunes, Martino creates a hard-driving set full of frothy climaxes, as on "Goin' to a Meeting" and "Double Play." This June 2009 set featured his band at the time - organist Tony Monaco, drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander - and it never leaves the blues for long. The set proves to be a sassy one, enabling Martino to drop some scalding moments.

- Karl Stark