Marty Sammon
Encyclopedia
Marty Sammon is an American
blues
keyboardist. He is most recognized for his energetic performances, improvisation and mastery of traditional styles (ragtime
and blues). Sammon has established himself as an ambassador of Chicago blues
appearing on several commercially distributed DVDs, television shows (US and in Europe) and Grammy Award
winning albums.
, Illinois
, United States, with an Irish
background, Sammon began learning keyboard early in his childhood. He began his musical journey learning traditional Irish folk songs by ear while listening to records with his father, Martin Sr. His parents realized that their prodigy son had an ear for music and encouraged him to take piano lessons. Sammon enjoyed the experience but also developed his musical ear by listening to many styles of music. He competed in contests including the World Championship Old-Time Piano Players (winning back to back championships in 1994 and 1995).
At the age of 15, he began playing on the blues scene with South Side guitarist L. V. Banks. Although he was underage and still being driven to the venues by his father, he absorbed the sound and language of Chicago blues
.
Sammon began receiving calls to play with many Chicago artists, including Phil Guy
. Sammon performed and toured with Guy and other blues musicians for years while at the same time, performing a variety of headlining gigs (including headlining a tour in Latvia). Sammon's "turning point" of his career came while playing with Guy at the original Checkerboard Lounge during the weekend of the Chicago Blues Festival
.
After five years with Otis Rush
, which included an appearance on Rush's 2003 DVD, Live Part One, and Martin Scorsese
's double Grammy Award winning Blues Series (Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes) - Godfathers and Sons, Sammon got a call that changed his prospects. "It was late night and I was home when the phone rang. I didn't know the number so I ignored it. My brother Mike convinced me to answer saying that 'that could be THE call!' It was Phil Guy saying that I had the Buddy gig and, by the way, Y'all leave Thursday. I'll be forever grateful to Phil and to my bro for that!"
Today, Sammon performs worldwide with Buddy Guy
, and contributed as a studio musician on Guy's sixth Grammy Award winning album, Living Proof
. Sammon also has multiple releases under his own name. As an ambassador of Chicago blues, Sammon also continues to perform at schools and universities to promote blues and music career development education.
Sammon was selected to be a representative of Chicago blues for a German movie production (with an anticipated release date at the end of 2011).
He also appeared with Tom Holland live on WDCB
(90.9 FM), Chicago's jazz radio station, during the Scott "Hambone" Hammer show, Hambone's Blues Party. The performance included tracks off Sammon and Holland's album, 190 Proof Blues.
Sammon's influences include Dr. John
, Scott Joplin
, Professor Longhair
, Keith Jarrett
, Chick Corea
, Otis Spann
, Pinetop Perkins
, Ray Charles
, Eubie Blake
, Fats Waller
, Stevie Wonder
, Donny Hathaway
, Curtis Mayfield
, and Bruce Hornsby
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
keyboardist. He is most recognized for his energetic performances, improvisation and mastery of traditional styles (ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
and blues). Sammon has established himself as an ambassador of Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
appearing on several commercially distributed DVDs, television shows (US and in Europe) and Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning albums.
Biography
Born and raised in the South Side, ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States, with an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
background, Sammon began learning keyboard early in his childhood. He began his musical journey learning traditional Irish folk songs by ear while listening to records with his father, Martin Sr. His parents realized that their prodigy son had an ear for music and encouraged him to take piano lessons. Sammon enjoyed the experience but also developed his musical ear by listening to many styles of music. He competed in contests including the World Championship Old-Time Piano Players (winning back to back championships in 1994 and 1995).
At the age of 15, he began playing on the blues scene with South Side guitarist L. V. Banks. Although he was underage and still being driven to the venues by his father, he absorbed the sound and language of Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
.
Sammon began receiving calls to play with many Chicago artists, including Phil Guy
Phil Guy
Phil Guy was an American blues guitarist. He was the younger brother of Buddy Guy.-Biography:Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Guy played with the harmonica player Raful Neal for ten years in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area before relocating to Chicago in 1969 where he joined his brothers' band...
. Sammon performed and toured with Guy and other blues musicians for years while at the same time, performing a variety of headlining gigs (including headlining a tour in Latvia). Sammon's "turning point" of his career came while playing with Guy at the original Checkerboard Lounge during the weekend of the Chicago Blues Festival
Chicago Blues Festival
The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events, and always occurs in early June...
.
After five years with Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
, which included an appearance on Rush's 2003 DVD, Live Part One, and Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's double Grammy Award winning Blues Series (Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes) - Godfathers and Sons, Sammon got a call that changed his prospects. "It was late night and I was home when the phone rang. I didn't know the number so I ignored it. My brother Mike convinced me to answer saying that 'that could be THE call!' It was Phil Guy saying that I had the Buddy gig and, by the way, Y'all leave Thursday. I'll be forever grateful to Phil and to my bro for that!"
Today, Sammon performs worldwide with Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, and contributed as a studio musician on Guy's sixth Grammy Award winning album, Living Proof
Living Proof (Buddy Guy album)
Living Proof is Buddy Guy's 26th studio album. After nearly fifty years in the music business, this was Buddy's highest charting album ever, peaking at #46 on the main Billboard album chart.The album loosely follows the progression of Buddy Guy's life...
. Sammon also has multiple releases under his own name. As an ambassador of Chicago blues, Sammon also continues to perform at schools and universities to promote blues and music career development education.
Sammon was selected to be a representative of Chicago blues for a German movie production (with an anticipated release date at the end of 2011).
He also appeared with Tom Holland live on WDCB
WDCB
WDCB is a radio station broadcasting a public radio and jazz format. Licensed to Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by College of DuPage, District 502 and features programing from AP Radio and Public Radio International...
(90.9 FM), Chicago's jazz radio station, during the Scott "Hambone" Hammer show, Hambone's Blues Party. The performance included tracks off Sammon and Holland's album, 190 Proof Blues.
Sammon's influences include Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
, Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
, Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
, Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
, Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
, Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop Perkins
Joseph William Perkins , known by the stage name Pinetop Perkins, was an American blues musician, specializing in piano music...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Eubie Blake
Eubie Blake
James Hubert Blake was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, Blake and long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans...
, Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...
, Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
, and Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
.
Discography
| Album | Artist | Media | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Say What You Mean Say What You Mean Say What You Mean is the third studio album released by Maktub.-Track listing:# "Promise Me" – 4:28# "Say What You Mean" – 4:11# "20 Years" – 5:21# "Daily Dosage" – 3:38# "Hunt You Down" – 4:16# "Seeing Is Believing" – 3:39... |
Phil Guy Phil Guy Phil Guy was an American blues guitarist. He was the younger brother of Buddy Guy.-Biography:Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Guy played with the harmonica player Raful Neal for ten years in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area before relocating to Chicago in 1969 where he joined his brothers' band... |
CD | |
| Buddy Guy Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation... North Seas Jazz Festival |
Buddy Guy Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation... |
DVD | |
| Buddy Guy Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation... Live In Lugano Switzerland |
Buddy Guy Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation... |
DVD | |
| Eric Clapton Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and... Crossroads Guitar Festival |
Various Artists | DVD | 2008 |
| Eric Clapton Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and... Crossroads Guitar Festival |
Various Artists | DVD | 2010 |
| Carlos Santana Carlos Santana Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion... Santana Presents The Blues |
Carlos Santana Carlos Santana Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion... |
DVD | 2004 |
| Otis Rush Otis Rush Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes... Blues Express |
Otis Rush Otis Rush Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes... |
CD and DVD | |
| Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell is a Scottish comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell , Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus , a wry adventure... Tear This World Up |
Earl Campbell Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell , nicknamed The Tyler Rose, is a former professional American Football running back. He, Paul Hornung and O.J Simpson are the only people to have won the Heisman Trophy , were first overall National Football League draft picks and are in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame... |
CD | Delmark Artist Performances |
| Living Proof Living Proof (Buddy Guy album) Living Proof is Buddy Guy's 26th studio album. After nearly fifty years in the music business, this was Buddy's highest charting album ever, peaking at #46 on the main Billboard album chart.The album loosely follows the progression of Buddy Guy's life... |
Buddy Guy Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation... |
CD and Album | *Grammy Winning Best Contemporary Blues Album, appearance on "Let The Door Knob Hit Ya" produced by Tom Hambridge Tom Hambridge Thomas Jay Hambridge is a critically acclaimed American rock, country, and blues, producer, songwriter, musician and vocalist. Hambridge has received a Grammy Award, an ASCAP award, four Grammy nominations, seven Boston Music Awards, and has been inducted into the Buffalo Hall of Fame... |
| Experience Hendrix Tour | Various Various Various, or Various Production, is an English dubstep/electronic music duo formed in 2003. The group blends samples, acoustic and electronic instrumentation, and singing from a revolving cast of vocalists. Its members, Adam and Ian, purposefully give very little information about the group or... |
DVD | 2008 |
| Marty Sammon- Marty Sammon Band Live | Marty Sammon | CD | 2002 |
| Marty Sammon Honky Tonk Piano Party | Marty Sammon | CD | |
| Marty Sammon Songs Before My Time | Marty Sammon | CD | |
| Marty Sammon Hound Dog Barkin | Marty Sammon | CD | 2010 (Originals Re-Release) |
| Marty Sammon Live at Orazio's | Marty Sammon | CD | |
| Marty Sammon Right At Home | Marty Sammon | CD | |
| Marty Sammon and Tom Holland - 190 Proof Blues | Marty Sammon and Tom Holland | CD | 2008 Live Performance filmed and aired on WDCB 90.9FM Chicago's Jazz Station with Scott "Hambone" Hammer |
External links
- World Championship Old Time Piano Website
- Phil Guy's official website
- Dreiteilige Dokumentation von Peter Adler Am Mississippi
- http://gc.guitarcenter.com/sessions/buddy-guy/Guitar Center Sessions on Direct TV - Buddy GuyBuddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
] - Yamaha - Marty Sammon
- Jive Records Group Biography and Production Credits
- Library of Congress Festival De Jazz De Montreaux 2004 a Jazz and Blues filmogrpahy by David Meeker Jean-Marc Chevillard, Vincent Guelat, Romain Guelat - motion picture
- Martin Scorsese - Godfathers and Sons, Marty Sammon (piano) with Otis Rush
Reviews
- "Live Blues: BB King and Buddy Guy" International Review of Music, Aug 12, 2010
- "Marty Sammon and Rick King at Harlem Avenue Lounge" IllinoisBlues.Com, Jun 11, 2008
- "Los Lonely Boys Taste Of Chicago- Marty Sammon" ChicagoConcertGoers.Com, Jun 29,2010
- "Buddy Guy and Marty Sammon Exchange solos" popmatters.com, Dec 14, 2009