The Apprentice

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The only child of two singers who separated shortly after his birth in 1948, Martyn was raised by his grandmother and his father in urban Glasgow, spending his annual holidays touring the waterways of Southern England with his mother. Striving to be ‘different and Bohemian’, the adolescent Martyn took up the guitar, and was noticed by Hamish Imlach, who taught him much and showed him the possibilities of combining traditional and modern approaches to music whilst sounding contemporary. In Session (August 2006) (BBC sessions, recorded for John Peel and Bob Harris, between 1973 and 1978)

If 1990s The Apprentice was a landmark for John Martyn, it was primarily because Island Records’ rejection of it even after he had re-recorded it at his own expense marked the end of his two-decade tenure at the label. With hindsight, it’s hard to fathom why they passed on a record later seen as a return to form after some decidedly uneven 80s output, but John Hillarby’s liner notes for this three CD plus DVD clamshell box reissues are revealing. Apparently,the label had designs on re-styling Martyn as the next Chris Rea – a fool’s errand, really, given his notorious recalcitrance and reputation as a stylistic moving target. In the late 1980s, Martyn cited Grace and Danger as his favourite album, and said that it was "probably the most specific piece of autobiography I've written. Some people keep diaries, I make records." [17] The album has since become one of his highest-regarded, prompting a deluxe double-disc issue in 2007, containing the original album remastered.

John signed to Permanent Records and The Apprentice was released. A confident and fresh sounding album of varied material from the fierce funky disco beat in Deny This Love with crashing synthesizers and samples, to the more understated instrumentation on The River, Send Me One Line, Look At That Girl and the vastly underrated The Moment (only available on CD having been left off the vinyl release). Look At The Girl is written about John’s now grown up My Baby Girl Mhairi and Income Town, apparently live from the mythical The Green Banana in Toronto is in fact dubbed. Typical of the man’s sense of humour! The 1987 film adaptation starred Anne Bancroft as Helene Hanff, Anthony Hopkins as Frank Doel and Judi Dench as Nora Doel. John told me, “Joe Lustig rang me and asked me to write a song for the film so I read the book and wrote the song, I think it’s a nice little tune. I wrote the song and then forgot about it so it was too late to be used in the film!” To mark Martyn's 60th birthday, Island released a 4 CD boxed set, Ain't No Saint, on 1 September 2008. The set includes unreleased studio material and rare live recordings. The River’ snakes in sultrily, getting ever more sensual albeit in a dignified manner. Martyn tells us he works on the river, the sheer graft he discusses one perceives less the bargeman’s duties and as metaphor for life, in that he’s been undergoing self-improvement. It grooves in a jingle-jangle mode, again rejoicingly, the love he’s found making him strive to be a better man. John signed to Permanent Records but unfortunately this proved to be a far from happy and permanent arrangement. However, the album is confident and extensive use was made of synthesizers and samplers on the fierce disco beat Deny This Love which achieved a good amount of air play. More subtle blends and instrumentation were evident on The Apprentice, Send Me One Line and the vastly underrated The Moment (The Moment is only available on the CD version). Look At The Girl is a song about John’s now grown up daughter Mhari and Patterns In The Rain features John’s acoustic guitar playing for the first time in many years. Income Town is apparently live from The Green Banana in Toronto but this is in fact dubbed.

Review: Grace & Danger, A Celebration of John Martyn, Celtic Connections 2019". The Fountain. 1 February 2019 . Retrieved 25 June 2020. In 1985 worked again with Dominic Miller in a trio with flautist Dave Heath. The trio did several concerts in the Purcell Room on the South Bank and at the Edinburgh Festival as well as appearing on TV AM and recording for BBC’s ‘Pebble Mill At One’. Self-penned, bar Foster Patterson’s Patterns In The Rain, The Apprencice itself was superior to his preceding Island output, without quite supplanting the magnificence of his glory days. The synth wash dates it, but Martyn’s vocals are clear, and the songs are carefully crafted. He’s unusually upbeat in Live On Love, but he’s quietly angry on Income Town and Upo glides serenely, propelled by his trademark hidden, nagging melodics. Left technical college in Newark in July 1983 and spent a year self-employed building flight cases and speakers. Moved to London in 1984 and joined guitarist’s Dominic Miller’s band ‘Iguaza’. Played on his album ‘Iguaza’ and did the Edinburgh Festival with the band which included playing on BBC Radio 2, Brian Mathew’s ‘Round Midnight’.

Following Martyn's death, Rolling Stone lauded his " progressive folk invention and improvising sorcery". [32] Friend and collaborator Phil Collins paid tribute to him, saying, "John's passing is terribly, terribly sad. I had worked with and known him since the late 1970s and he was a great friend. He was uncompromising, which made him infuriating to some people, but he was unique and we'll never see the likes of him again. I loved him dearly and will miss him very much." [33] From the age of sixteen through to nineteen he played his first gigs with jazz funk bands including Marie Murphy’s Latin Jazz Quartet. Also in this period he met Spencer Cozens and Dominic Miller who became lifelong friends. From 1986 he began playing on sessions with Dominic Miller including a tune he had written on the Nigel Kennedy album “Let Loose”, also sessions with Mike McEvory (producer/composer). While The Apprentice was a turning point for Martyn’s career, it’s not exactly a landmark gig, even with the inclusion of Gilmour. With its less-than-great picture quality, it’s in no danger of overshadowing the handful of alternatives available at the moment. Then, one lashing-it-down rainy weekend in 1982, at the Genesis reunion that was Six of the Best, held at Milton Keynes, I saw the John Martyn band for the last time. I was with that same old school friend, Gary, and so many things beyond the concert made it such a perfect day. But, I decided, I’d seen Martyn at his zenith by then, I needed a rest. My life had moved on considerably, good and bad, and the man’s songs sometimes reflected too many emotional similarities not to hurt upon hearing. With time having passed, I replayed his vinyl records, and the likes of ‘May You Never’ and ‘Couldn’t Love You More’ found favour with the woman who’d become my wife. We went to see him at Birmingham Town Hall, alongside Roy Harper – Both sets had them solo, voice and acoustic, no effects. My better-half enjoyed Martyn immensely, for me it was somewhat bitter-sweet but I was so glad I had gone. A spellbinding album of love, hope and reflection, with a modest sprinkling of rage and disbelief at an inequitable world. More Sorcerer than Apprentice!

To celebrate Martyn’s 20th anniversary as a performer Island began 1986 with the release of “Classic John Martyn,” hailed as the first commercially available Compact Disc single. It featured a new ballad ‘Angeline’. Sadly the single failed to give Martyn the hit that Island were looking for. a b c d "John Martyn: Pioneering singer-songwriter who blended folk with jazz and played with Eric Clapton and Dave Gilmour – Obituaries – News". The Independent. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022 . Retrieved 16 August 2015. The resulting album was a well-crafted work which was well received by critics and fans alike. To promote the album, Martyn embarked on a UK tour which included a series of concerts at The Shaw Theatre in London. The concert on 31st March 1990 was filmed and recorded, and featured special guest David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. Due to his father’s involvement and love of jazz, the first music Miles listened to was jazz. Later influences developed more specifically in bands and players, like Miles Davis, Weather Report, Egberto Gismonti, Al Jarreau, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny and the late Jaco Pastorius.

John Martyn's final recordings to be released". The Guardian. 27 April 2011 . Retrieved 19 July 2020.