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Johnny Martin
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What makes a song witty or wise, romantic or memorable, has as much to do with who's telling it as it does the tune. In the words of Portland pianist Eddie Wied, "Man, Johnny Martin sounds like Sinatra."
Martin's love for lush big band arrangements recently caused him to make the cross-over from pop to swing. After a room erupted in applause and smiles at his first solo swing performance for the homeless at the St. Francis dining hall, he knew he had arrived at a place he wanted to stay.
In swing, Martin has found the voice that was his all along: strong, searching, truthful and sometimes comic, it resonates a tradition that created the expanse of American dreaminess and good times in the 1930's, 40's and 50's. Whether unwinding with his quartet or fronting a 16-piece band, Martin is ready to stretch the idyllic musical landscapes of the past into now, one song at at time.
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