Arts, Etc.Music

Soul band lays down Latin grooves

Scott Martin, a Grammy winning saxophone player, performs “Sunny” from his 2005 album “Menudo and Gritz,” at Morgan Auditorium Sunday. Martin dedicated the song to a transgender geisha to whom he met while touring in Japan. Martin started playing the saxophone at age 9. / photo by Janelle Kluz
Scott Martin, a Grammy winning saxophone player, performs “Sunny” from his 2005 album “Menudo and Gritz,” at Morgan Auditorium Sunday. Martin dedicated the song to a transgender geisha to whom he met while touring in Japan. Martin started playing the saxophone at age 9. / photo by Janelle Kluz

Tyler Evains
Arts Editor

The stage was adorned with a blue, marbled drum set, a pair of conga drums painted like lava lamps, and two saxophones. The Scott Martin Latin Soul Band performed Sunday evening in Morgan Auditorium as part of Sundays at the Morgan series, bringing renowned artists to La Verne.

“I call it Latin soul because it mixes Latin, jazz, R&B and soul,” band leader Scott Martin said.

The band started the night off with a bang, playing “Voodoo Juice” from its album “Organic Voodoo Juice.

Martin played sax, Quinn Johnson was on piano, George Ortiz played congas, Marvin “Smitty” Smith was on drums and Ernie Nunez on bass guitar.

Martin ‘shhed’ his band and the crowd.

“You guys are too quiet. You can get into it if you want to,” Martin told the audience.

He later added that he expected to see a fuller, younger crowd and that it was a sparse, grey-haired audience instead.

He also said that he did not want to scare them with the funky songs he was about to play, but he could still feel the audience’s enjoyment.

“People were listening with intent,” Smith said. “Some people dance, some just pat their foot.” He said that a woman was dancing in the audience holding her baby and he hoped the baby felt the jazz vibrations.

Martin said he was a traditional jazz and R&B player until band leader and salsa singer, Poncho Sanchez, introduced him to the Latin jazz scene. He played with the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band for more than 14 years.

“I jumped in the deep end with this,” Martin said.

The Grammy-winning artist for Best Latin Jazz Performance with Sanchez’ band comes from a musical family; his father was a trumpet player and his brothers, Andy and Stan Martin, make up the rest of their jazz trio, Martin Brother Horns.

“These guys are pretty good huh?” Martin said. He added that as the band leader, calls whoever he wants to perform and this group is his favorite.

Martin turned his dark blue Kangol hat backwards during “Flim Flam,” also from the Organic Voodoo Juice album.

“They seemed to have fun on that one,” avid Latin jazz fan Pamela Butler, 58, of Gardena said.

Butler said she saw Martin’s band perform in November 2016 at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill in Los Angeles, and was excited to see them in concert at another intimate venue.

Martin signaled the band to play “Boogie on Reggae Woman” by Stevie Wonder without introduction.

“Was that too funky for you guys?” Martin said. “I hope I didn’t hurt anybody.”

Butler said that Martin’s version of the song was funkier than usual.

“I’ve never heard it played like that before,” she said.

Alma Lara and Robert Lara of Upland, who accompanied their son Alex Lara, freshman computer science major, said they had never heard of Martin or the band before. Alex Lara said he watched the performance for his Latin Cultures class.

“I never knew they had concerts here,” Robert Lara said. He added that he enjoyed hearing vocals in a familiar song, “Sunny,” by Bobby Hebb rather than just common instrumental jazz.

“Everything was my favorite,” Alma Lara said. “It was relaxing and the pianist was excellent.”

Alex Lara said he played trumpet until his senior year in high school.

“Maybe if I practice more, I’m inspired to start back,” he added.

Smith and Martin played in Jose Rizo’s ensemble, Jazz on the Latin Side All Stars. Once Martin started his own band, he called Smith when another drummer could not make it to a performance. Since then, Smith has played in the Latin Soul Band for two-and-a-half years.

“It’s been fun for me,” Smith said. “Any time you get to make music is joyful.” He added that recently society has strayed away from jazz music’s party origin.

“When you take the party element out of jazz, it becomes sterile,” Smith said. He said that an audience has been lost in the transition of jazz into concert halls.

“We have to get back to the communal aspect, whether you play or just listen,” Smith said.

Tyler Evains can be reached at tyler.evains@laverne.edu.

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