Hector Martignon is a Colombian pianist and composer of Italian descent living in New York City. Two of Martignon's albums have been nominated for a Grammy Award: Refugee (2007) and Second Chance (2010). Martignon is known for crossbreeding the improvisational language of Jazz with diverse musical idioms, such as Classical European, Latin American folklore and World Music. On its exhibit Latin Jazz, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

lists Martignon among the leading artists “exploring the regional sources of Latin Jazz”.

Training

At age 18, Martignon abandoned his engineering studies in Colombia in order to formally study music in Germany, where he attained a bachelor's degree in Piano Performance at the

Hochschule für Musik Freiburg The Hochschule für Musik Freiburg ("University of Music Freiburg or Freiburg Conservatory of Music") is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music. ...

, under Robert-Alexander Bohnke. There he received instruction from Swiss composer

Klaus Huber Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in Basel and Freiburg. Among his students were Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Jarrell, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saaria ...

on the rudiments of composition and instrumentation, attending related Seminars and Master Classes from the likes of

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono bega ...

and

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental music, experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia (Berio), Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Seque ...

, who routinely taught in Freiburg on their way to nearby

Donaueschingen Festival The Donaueschingen Festival, or more precisely ''Donaueschingen Music Days'' (), is a three-day October event presenting new music in the town of the same name, where the Danube River starts, at the edge of the Black Forest in southern Germany. F ...

and

Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse aft ...

. He was awarded a master's degree at Manhattan School of Music, studying Jazz Piano with

Kenny Barron Kenneth Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist and composer who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Early life ...

and Classical Piano with Solomon Mikowsky. There he attended composition courses with Czech composer

Ludmila Ulehla Ludmila Ulehla (1923–2009) was an American composer and music educator. Biography Ludmila Ulehla was born in Flushing, Queens, New York. She began the study of piano and violin very early and wrote short compositions at the age of five. Lat ...

Musical career

Hector Martignon at Athens Archeological Museum

During his studies, Martignon backed Salsa singers like

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

Ismael Miranda Ismael Miranda, also known as ''El Niño Bonito de la Salsa'' ("The Pretty Boy of Salsa") (born February 20, 1950) is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. Early years Miranda (birth name: Ismael Miranda Carrero) was born in Aguada, Puerto Rico ...

and

Pete “Conde” Rodriguez Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

on their European tours, mostly in US Army bases in Germany. His first professional recording was with Greek composer

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...

on his ''Canto General''. Moving to New York city in 1989, Martignon joined both the Salsa band and the Jazz ensemble of

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

, New World Spirit, from 1990 to 1998, contributing compositions and arrangements, as well as keyboard work, to 5 albums, including the Grammy-nominated ''My Summertime'' (1995). ( John Storm Roberts, Latin Jazz, , pages 222, 230). Martignon also toured with

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga an ...

Gato Barbieri Leandro "Gato" Barbieri (November 28, 1932 – April 2, 2016) was an Argentine jazz tenor saxophonist who rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and is known for his Latin jazz recordings of the 1970s. His nickname, Gato, is Spa ...

Steve Turre Stephen Johnson Turre (born September 12, 1948, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American jazz trombonist and a pioneer of using Conch (instrument), seashells as instruments, a composer, arranger, and educator at the collegiate-conservatory level. For ...

Paquito D’Rivera Francisco de Jesús Rivera Figueras (born 4 June 1948), known as Paquito D'Rivera, is a Cuban-American alto saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was a member of the Cuban songo band Irakere and, since the 1980s, he has established him ...

Don Byron Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer. Biography His moth ...

and was invited to perform with

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

''Project America'' featuring

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

. In 1996 Martignon started in earnest a dedicated solo career, performing in music festivals, theaters, clubs and colleges worldwide, releasing in 1997 a first of six albums as a leader, ''Portrait in White and Black'' ( John Storm Roberts, Latin Jazz, , page 242) featuring Barretto and

Donny McCaslin Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, ''Blackstar (album), Blacksta ...

. Two later albums, ''Refugee'' (2007) and ''Second Chance'' (2010) were each nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

. ''The Big Band Theory'', a big band-plus-strings formatted album with all arrangements and six compositions written by Martignon, was listed as one of

Downbeat Magazine ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

’s 'Best Albums of 2016'. In it Martignon displays his Jazz prowess alongside a Classical perspective in orchestration, combining original strings with modern brass and woodwind harmonies and Afro Cuban rhythmics in Bach's Aria ''Erbarme dich'', from the St Matheus Passion.

Film and theater

Martignon wrote the scores for one feature film, Septimo Cielo, a short for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, ''From Dusk till Dawn'' and for two plays for Repertorio Español in New York,

Ana en el Trópico Ana or ANA may refer to: People * Ana (given name), a list of people with the name * Ana people or Atakpame people, an ethnic group of West Africa * ana (gamer), Anathan Pham, an Australian professional ''Dota 2'' player known as ana Places * A ...

and award-winning Cita a Ciegas. He performed all piano parts for

Eat Drink Man Woman ''Eat Drink Man Woman'' () is a 1994 comedy-drama film directed by Ang Lee, from a script co-written with James Schamus and Hui-Ling Wang.Howe, Desson.‘Eat Drink Man Woman’" ''The Washington Post''. 19 October 1994. Retrieved on 20 Novemb ...

, an Oscar-nominated film by

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

, arranging and producing some of the cuts. His Broadway experience as pianist, arranger, assistant director and musical director is extensive and includes productions such as

The Capeman ''The Capeman'' is a musical play with music by Paul Simon and book and lyrics by Simon and Derek Walcott based on the life of convicted murderer Salvador Agrón. The play opened at the Marquis Theatre in 1998 to poor reviews and ran for 68 p ...

, Chronicle of a Death Foretold at Lincoln Center,

The Mambo Kings ''The Mambo Kings'' is a 1992 musical film, musical Drama (film and television), drama film based on the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' by Oscar Hijuelos. The film was direc ...

and Selena Forever. Between 2018 and 2019, Martignon toured 10 cities in Cuba, Europe and China as musical director and pianist of the Cuban Musical ''Carmen la Cubana'', written and directed by British director

Christopher Renshaw Christopher Renshaw (born 18 March 1952 in Reading) is a British opera and theatre director. He has directed in multiple countries, including musical theatre in London's West End. Biography In 2001, Renshaw directed ''Taboo'', a musical with th ...

based on Bizet's opera ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

''.

Teaching

Alongside his performing career, Martignon has been actively engaged in the musical training of young generations, teaching Jazz Composition at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater München The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts music school, conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, locate ...

, and at the

Ludwigsburg University of Education The Ludwigsburg University of Education ( German ''Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg''), also called in English the University of Ludwigsburg and the Pedagogical University of Ludwigsburg, is an institution of higher education in Ludwigsburg, ...

, in Germany. In 2017 Martignon was the piano instructor at the yearly ''Jazz is Back'' Summer Festival in Groznjan, Croatia. He has conducted master classes at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

, the Sunderman Conservatory at

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

; the

Geneva Conservatory Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

; EJMA, the Jazz department of the

Lausanne Conservatory The Haute école de musique de Lausanne (HEMU, known as Institute of Advanced Musical Studies prior to 2010, founded in 1861 as Conservatoire de Lausanne) is a Swiss music school located in Romandy, the French-speaking western part of Switzerland ...

, in Switzerland; and at

Tokyo University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

. Since January 2020 he teaches theory, history and Jazz composition at the department of music at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

Publications

Martignon wrote the ''Salsa Piano Book'', commissioned and published by

Hal Leonard Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...

. Apart from his own albums, he was commissioned to write liner notes for releases by Chris Bergson, Eddie Martinez, Nelson Riveros and Andrés Cuadros de Bejar.

Discography

As a leader

* ''Portrait in White and Black'' (Candid, 1996) * ''The Foreign Affair'' (Candid, 1998) * ''Refugee'' (

Zoho Music Zoho Music is a Latin jazz independent record label based in New York, founded by Joachim Becker in 2003. In 2005, the label expanded to blues, R&B, Southern and classic rock on the Zoho Roots imprint. The catalog consists of over 180 CD releases ...

, 2007) * ''Live at Birdland'' (GMN, 2008)'''' * ''Second Chance'' (Zoho Music, 2010) * ''The Big Band Theory'' (Zoho Music, 2016)

As a co-leader

* Burgstaller-Martignon-4 ''Mozart’s Blue Fantasies'' (Summit, 2009) * Burgstaller-Martignon-4 ''Bach’s Secret Files'' (Summit, 2011)

As sideman

As: pianist (p), composer (c), arranger (a), orchestrator (o), producer (pr) *

, ''Canto General'' (1980; p) * Sunrise Orchestra, ''Malata Suite'' (1986; p) *

Conexión Latina Conexión Latina is a salsa music and Afro-Cuban jazz orchestra based in Germany, which was founded in 1980 by trombonist Rudi Fuesers.Lise A. Waxer -The City of Musical Memory: Salsa, Record Grooves and Popular Culture in Cali, Colombia... 0819570 ...

, ''Un Poco Loco'' (1986; p) * Irazu, ''Mambo Inn'' (1991; p, c) *

, ''Handprints'' (1991; p, c) *

, ''Ancestral Messages'' (1992; p, c, a) *

, ''Soy Dichoso (1992; p)'' * Angelo Y su Tumbao Moderno, ''Extasis y Dolor'' (1993; p, c, a, pr) *

, '' Eat, Dream, Man, Woman'' (1994; p, a, pr) *

, ''Taboo'' (1994; p, c, a) * Lucia Pulido, ''Lucia'' (1995; p, a, pr) *

, ''My Summertime'' (1995, p, c, a) * Descarga Boricua, ''Abrázate'' (1996; p) *

Gabriela Anders Gabriela Anders (born March 17, 1972, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine singer and pianist. Anders started out on classical guitar, then studied piano at a conservatory in Buenos Aires. In the U.S., she was influenced by jazz and listened to the ...

, ''Fantasía'' (1996; p, a) * Cruz Control, ''Cruz Control'' (1997; a) *

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

, ''The Capeman, the Cast Album'' (1997; p, a) *

, ''Wanting'' (1998; a) *

Luis Bonilla Luis Diego Bonilla (October 12, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist of Costa Rican descent. He is also a producer, composer, and educator. Biography Early life, musical education and influences Luis Bonilla was born and raised in Eagle Rock, ...

, ''Escucha'' (2000; p, c) *

Monday Michiru is a Japanese American singer and songwriter whose music encompasses and fuses a wide variety of genres including jazz, dance, pop, and soul. She is arguably best known for being a pioneer of the acid jazz movement in Japan in the early 1990s y ...

, ''4 Seasons'' (2000; p) *

, ''You are #6'' (2001; p) *

Paul Peress Paul Peress is an American drummer, composer, and record producer. Career Peress grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas. He started on violin when he was six years old, then played trumpet when he was twelve. His family moved after his father, Mauri ...

, ''Awakening'' (2002; p, a) *

, ''Ecléctica'' (2003; p, a) *

Yerba Buena (band) Yerba Buena was a Latin fusion band. The group, active between 2003 and 2009, was founded by Venezuelan musician and producer Andres Levin. Yerba Buena's music (as described by Razor & Tie, the band's record label) is a blend of Latin music ...

, ''President Alien'', (2003, accordion) *

, ''Latina'' (2004; p, a) * Vitaly Osmaçko, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, ''Svetloba V ZIitu'' (2004; p, a, o) * Julia Dollison, ''Observatory'' (2005, c) *

Samuel Torres Samuel Torres (born September 4, 1976) is a Colombian percussionist composer and arranger. He was born in Bogotá, and started playing at age twelve and became involved with different bands in his hometown. Torres' musician credits includes coll ...

, ''Skin Tones'' (2006, p, c) *

, ''Bossa Beleza'' (2008, p, a, pr) * Willie Martinez y La Familia, ''After Winter, Spring'' (2008, a) * Johnny Ray, ''El De La Rumba Soy Yo'' (2008, accordion) * Eddie Allen, ''Salongo'' (2008; p) * Chembo Corniel, ''Things I Wanted To Do'' (2009, a, c) * Juan Garcia-Herreros ’Snow Owl’ ''The Art of The Contrabass Guitar'' (2010; p) * Nelson Riveros, ''Camino al Barrio'' (2010; p, c, a, pr) * Silvestre Martínez, ''Heritage'' (2010; p, a) *

Candido Candido is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Candido Amantini (1914–1992), Italian Roman Catholic priest * Candido Camero, known simply as "Candido" (1921–2020), Cuban percussionist * Candido J ...

, ''Hands of Fire'' (2011; p) *

Birdland Big Band The Birdland Big Band is a 16-piece jazz orchestra that performs at the Birdland Jazz Club in New York City. The Birdland Big Band is led by saxophonist David DeJesus DeJesus joined as saxophonist and leader in October 2017 and brought with him ...

, ''Eleven'' (2011; p) * Steffen Kuehn, ''Constantine'' (2011; p) *

Chicago (band) Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967. Self-described as a "rock and roll band with horns," their songs often also combine elements of classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop music. Growing out of several bands fr ...

and New York Latin All Stars, ''Éxitos'' (2012; p) * Roberto Santamaria, ''Fiesta al Jazz'' (2013; p, a) * Juan Garcia-Herreros ’Snow Owl’ ''Normas'' (2013; p) * Antonio Cuadros de Bejar, ''Color Americano'' (2014; p, a) * Kotoe Suzuki, ''Kotoe'' (2017; p, pr)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martignon, Hector Living people 1959 births Colombian composers 21st-century Colombian pianists Zoho Music artists Academic staff of the Ludwigsburg University of Education