Joyous wake: An all-star tribute to late Philadelphia jazz guitar legend Pat Martino

During the nearly 25 years that Joe Donofrio spent as Pat Martino’s manager, the guitarist would often respond to offers with the same crucial question: “What does that have to do with my music?”

“That’s why his legacy became so strong,” Donofrio explained. “He would never do something just to be more commercial. For Pat, it was all about his music, his concepts, everything that he studied and learned. That’s what he wanted to do with his life, and I had to respect that.”

A year after Martino’s death at the age of 77, that same principle guided Donofrio as he worked to organize a fitting tribute to the jazz legend. The Pat Martino Celebration of Life will take place Nov. 3-6 at the Gateway Playhouse and Gregory’s Restaurant in Somers Point, N.J., featuring performances by a host of Martino’s collaborators, students, and admirers. The event will be available to stream worldwide for $10 per day, while in-person attendance will be free.

“I wanted the event to be free because it’s like attending a service,” Donofrio explained. “These musicians and the people coming to listen are paying their respects to Pat.”

The esteem in which Martino is held is evident in the stellar roster of six-string masters assembling for the four-day event. The lineup includes appearances by Russell Malone, Mark Whitfield, Jonathan Kreisberg, Dave Stryker, Jimmy Bruno, Paul Bollenback, Sheryl Bailey, Rodney Jones, Chico Pinheiro, and Chicago guitarist Fareed Haque, who will perform the music from Martino’s acclaimed 1977 fusion album, Joyous Lake.

“Pat was one of the most sophisticated improvisers on the guitar,” Haque said. “But he came from the street — he didn’t come from the institution. He was a studious person, but he was never above the blues. A lot of the jazz world has a quiet disdain and racism for the essential and earthier parts of this music. That’s why I think Pat is such an important figure: He’s the one cat who recorded Joyous Lake on one day and recorded with [soul jazz saxophonist] Willis Jackson the next.”

Martino’s biography is in essence the story of two lives. Born and raised in South Philadelphia, he spent his formative years playing in organ trios with the likes of Charles Earland, Don Patterson, and Jack McDuff. That soulful, blues-enriched aspect never left him, even as he ventured into jazz-rock fusion and his playing became ever more quicksilver and intense.

His flourishing career was tragically interrupted in 1980, when a brain aneurysm led to a near-fatal seizure. Emergency neurosurgery saved his life but erased the majority of his memory, leading him to relearn the guitar and embark on a miraculous comeback that lasted until chronic respiratory disorder forced an end to his touring schedule.

“The brain has a way of putting a Band-Aid on everything,” Donofrio said. “When something is missing, it compensates. That aneurysm had taken a chunk out of Pat’s brain, and it took a long time for the brain to reconstruct. As time went on I saw that he was handling things better, so he let me handle the rough parts and he just played his music.”

Following a keynote address by journalist Bill Milkowski, who co-wrote Martino’s autobiography, Here and Now, Thursday’s opening set will reunite the band from the 2011 album Undeniable: Live at Blues Alley. Saxophonist Eric Alexander, organist Tony Monaco, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts will be joined by guitarists Howard Paul and Chico Pinheiro to revisit that smoldering live date.

“Pat was a great improviser in that he created his own universe and implemented systems to challenge himself,” described Watts. “I tried to find a way to frame that special thing that he had. He played really long lines and had a lot to say, so I looked for ways to divide that up and shape it some.”

Saturday night will re-form Martino’s final trio with organist Pat Bianchi and drummer Carmen Intorre Jr., who toured with the guitarist for nine years. They’ll play the music from Martino’s last album, Formidable, followed by a set featuring a summit of guitar greats.

“Pat had done so much and it all showed up in his music in different ways,” Bianchi said. “One moment he’d be playing completely modern things, then in another moment he’d be swinging like he was playing the Chitlin’ Circuit with Jack McDuff.”

That range, Bianchi continued, was a reflection of Martino’s wide-ranging personality. “Pat had a lot of different sides to him. Towards his audience he was very serious and philosophical. But he definitely had a devious sense of humor. And he could never get rid of that South Philly vibe.”

“He was such a complex artist,” added Donofrio. “There were so many facets to this man. His life was just amazing. I want to keep his name going, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”

The Pat Martino Celebration of Life will take place Nov. 3-6 in Somers Point, N.J. For reservations or livestream, visit the South Jersey Jazz Society at https://southjerseyjazz.org.