Gerald L. Martini (born October 1, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the saxophonist for

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi ...

. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.

Early life

Martini was born in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, Colorado. He was introduced to music at an early age. By 12 years old, he had learned to play the ukulele, accordion, and clarinet. It was at 13 he learned the saxophone, his instrument of choice. Only two years later, he began gigging at local bars. While gigging, Martini attended San Francisco City College for three years attending music classes. Meanwhile, he played in a local band called

Joe Piazza and the Continentals ''KPIX Dance Party'' was an afternoon television show hosted by Dick Stewart which was broadcast on CBS KPIX-TV Channel 5 in San Francisco. It ran from 1959 to 1963. It featured teenagers dancing to popular music. Background The original host o ...

. It was here he befriended and first played alongside

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

.Lewis, Miles Marshall (2006). ''Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On''. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing USA. The group frequently provided music for the popular television show KPIX Dance Party hosted by Dick Stewart. Martini's reputation grew even more when the Continentals backed the popular group The Viscaynes on the recording of their hit single "Yellow Moon". The Continentals were also believed to be the backing group for an early

Janet Ericco Jan Errico is a drummer and singer who was a member of two San Francisco rock groups in the 1960s, The Vejtables and The Mojo Men. Background She is the daughter of Vincent Errico who, himself was an accomplished drummer. She is the cousin of G ...

recording, "It Was A Lie" bw "Come Along With Me" under the pseudonym The Twilights. After leaving the Continentals, Martini joined a popular interracial cover group called George and Teddy and the Condors, where he built his reputation even more. Sly Stone even used Martini to play on Bobby Freeman's 1964 single, " C'mon and Swim". After scoring a deal with Warner Brothers, George and Teddy and the Condors were sent to Italy in 1965 to build their fanbase. The tour bombed, and Martini realized that the band was going nowhere. While Stone held a disc jockey gig at

KSOL KSOL (98.9 FM "Que Buena 98.9 y 99.1") is a Spanish language radio station in San Francisco, California. KSQL (99.1 FM) simulcasts the station in Santa Cruz. KSOL and KSQL program a format consisting of regional Mexican music and talk shows. ...

, Martini stopped by once a week to visit. He approached him with an idea of forming a band, which Stone eventually took him up on.

Sly and the Family Stone

It was at Martini's suggestion that Sly and the Family Stone came about, and he became one of its key figures. He performed with the band from its inception in 1967 to its demise in 1975. In 1975, he appeared on Sly Stone's first solo album, ''

High on You High on You may refer to: * ''High on You'' (Sly Stone album) * ''High on You'' (Jeangu Macrooy album) * "High on You" (Sigma and John Newman song) * "High on You" (Survivor song) {{dab ...

''.

Outside Sly and the Family Stone

In 1977, he also performed on Larry Graham's Graham Central Station fifth album, '' Now Do U Wanta Dance''. He was also in the band

Rubicon The Rubicon ( la, Rubico; it, Rubicone ; rgn, Rubicôn ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just north of Rimini. It was known as Fiumicino until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, famously crossed by Julius C ...

during the late 1970s. In 2004–2005, he helped form the tribute band FamilyStoneExperience bringing together several Family Stone alumni, including Greg Errico, Cynthia Robinson, Dawn Silva and Gail Muldrow amongst others. In February 2017, Martini was performing with band Family Stone at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. In August 2019, Martini toured with Family Stone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martini, Jerry 1943 births Living people American people of Italian descent American rock saxophonists American funk saxophonists American male saxophonists American soul musicians Musicians from Denver Sly and the Family Stone members 21st-century saxophonists Rubicon (American band) members