Jerry Martin is an American composer, best known for his work composing music (particularly

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

) for television commercials, and being the lead composer for several games in ''

The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the best-selling video game series of all time. The games ...

'' franchise, including '' SimCity 3000'', ''

'', '' The Sims Bustin' Out'', ''

The Sims 2 ''The Sims 2'' is a 2004 strategic life simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in ''The Sims'' series, and is the sequel to ''The Sims.'' The game was released for Microsoft Windo ...

'' and '' SimCity 4''.

Early life and education

Martin began taking music lessons at the age of 10 and played

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

and keyboards in various ensembles through his high school and college education. Martin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in music composition from California State University, Hayward and a Master of Fine Arts from the Center for Contemporary Music at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was r ...

Career

In 1985, he founded his original music composition and production company called "Musicontrol". From 1985 to 1995, Martin composed and produced music for various projects such as video soundtracks to national TV and radio commercials, working with over 90 individual film, video and ad agency producers on over 200 different commissions from companies such as

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, the NBA,

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

, and others. In 1996, Martin joined the

Maxis Maxis is an American video game developer and a division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by EA in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including '' The S ...

division of

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...

as studio audio director and Lead Composer. From 1996 through 2004, he composed and produced music and directed the audio for multi-platinum video game franchises such as ''

'' and ''

SimCity ''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game series originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, '' SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and were followed by several sequels and many other spin-off "''Si ...

''. In 2005, Martin started his new company, Jerry Martin Music, and is currently working on various professional and personal musical projects.

Works

Video game soundtracks

* ''

''http://www.jerrymartinmusic.com/video_credits.php Jerry Martin's video game credits at his official site * '' The Sims Livin' Large'' * ''

The Sims House Party ''The Sims'' is a social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2000. It is a simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual people ("Sims") in a suburban household near a fictional city. Pla ...

'' * ''

The Sims Hot Date ''The Sims'' is a Social simulation game, social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2000. It is a computer simulation, simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual people ("Sims") in a subu ...

'' * ''

The Sims Vacation ''The Sims'' is a Social simulation game, social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2000. It is a computer simulation, simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual people ("Sims") in a subu ...

'' * '' The Sims Unleashed'' * ''

The Sims Superstar ''The Sims'' is a social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts in 2000. It is a simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual people ("Sims") in a suburban household near a fictional city. Pla ...

'' * ''

The Sims Makin' Magic Seven expansion packs were released for the 2000 life simulation game, life simulation video game ''The Sims (video game), The Sims'', the first major title in ''The Sims'' series. All expansion packs were developed by Maxis for Microsoft Wi ...

'' * '' The Sims Bustin' Out'' * '' The Sims Online'' * ''

'' * '' SimCity 3000'' * '' SimCity 3000 Unlimited'' * '' SimCity 4'' * ''

SimCity 4 Rush Hour ''SimCity 4: Rush Hour'' is the expansion pack for '' SimCity 4'' created by EA Games and Maxis, where the player builds a city from scratch. It was released in September 2003 simultaneously with a deluxe edition of ''SimCity 4'' which also co ...

'' * ''

SimCopter ''SimCopter'' is a 1996 flight simulator video game developed by Maxis. It puts the player into a 3D city. Like '' Streets of SimCity'', ''SimCopter'' lets the user import '' SimCity 2000'' maps into the game. It is also the first game to use ...

'' * ''

SimTunes ''SimTunes'' is a children's software toy designed by Toshio Iwai and released by Maxis in 1996. It involves painting a picture using large pixels, where each color represents a musical note. The player places up to four different-colored Bugz, ...

'' * '' SimPark'' * ''

SimSafari ''SimSafari'' is a construction and management simulation game released by Maxis on March 19, 1998. It is similar to ''SimPark'', except that the park is set in Africa rather than in North America, and therefore has African animals and plants. Ga ...

'' * ''

SimGolf ''SimGolf'' is a video game created by Maxis in 1996. The game allows players to design their own golf courses and play them. Gameplay The player can design their own golf course, being able to lower and raising the terrain, and can add trees, ...

'' * '' Streets of SimCity'' * '' Supercross 2000'' * '' Tony La Russa Baseball'' * '' SimCasino''

Companies whose TV commercials feature Martin's compositions

* AT&T Communications *

Acer Corporation Acer Inc. ( ) is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specializing in advanced electronics technology, headquartered in Xizhi, New Taipei City. Its products include desktop PCs, laptop PCs ( clamshells, 2-in-1s, con ...

* Alamo Car Rental *

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

Avocet The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) ...

Buick Dealers Association Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

* Cost Plus Imports *

Emporium Emporium may refer to: Historical * Emporium (antiquity), a trading post, factory, or market of Classical antiquity * Emporium (early medieval), a 6th- to 9th-century trading settlement in Northwestern Europe * Emporium (Italy), an ancient town ...

* GMC Trucks Dealers Association * Gallo Salame * Grass Valley Group *

Growing Healthy Inc. Growing may refer to: * Growth (disambiguation) * Growing (band), a noise band based in Brooklyn, New York * ''Growing'' (Sleeping People album), 2007 * Growing (Rina Chinen album) * Growing, a children's song sung on the television program Ba ...

* Hilltop Shopping Center *

Hitachi Data Systems Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) was a provider of modular mid-range and high-end computer data storage systems, software and services. Its operations are now a part of Hitachi Vantara. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. and part of ...

Dealers Association * KTVU Channel 2 *

Landor Associates Landor is a brand consulting firm founded in 1941 by Walter Landor, who pioneered some research, design, and consulting methods that the branding industry still uses. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company maintains 26 offices in 20 countr ...

* Longs Drug Stores *

Lucky Stores Lucky Stores is an American supermarket chain founded in San Leandro, California, in 1935. Lucky is currently operated by Albertsons in Utah and Save Mart Supermarkets in Northern California. In 1998, Lucky's parent company, American Stores, ...

* NBA * Nationwide Marketing *

Olympic Stain Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

* Pacific Bell *

Philip Morris Phil(l)ip or Phil Morris may refer to: Companies *Altria, a conglomerate company previously known as Philip Morris Companies Inc., named after the tobacconist **Philip Morris USA, a tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group **Philip Morris Inter ...

* Primerica * Project Open Hand * RSCVA *

Raychem Corporation The Raychem Corporation was founded in Redwood City, California, in 1957 by Paul M. Cook, James B. Meikle, and Richard W. Muchmore. Led by Cook and second-in-command Robert M. Halperin, Raychem became a pioneer of commercial products realized thro ...

* Quantum * Rolm * Safeway Eastern Division *

Sierra Pacific Power NV Energy is a public utility which generates, transmits and distributes electric service in northern and southern Nevada, including the Las Vegas Valley, and provides natural gas service in the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area of northern Nevada. ...

* Southern Pacific *

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, ...

* SYVA * Suzuki USA *

* Toyota USA *

Dealers Association * Weinstock's *

Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and inter ...

* Wesson Oil * Yamaha USA

References

External links

Jerry Martin's official siteComposer profile
at

OverClocked ReMix OverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-commercial organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs, both with new technology and software and by va ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jerry Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American jazz composers Electronic Arts employees American male jazz composers California State University, East Bay alumni Maxis Video game composers