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Terrace Martin

Terrace Martin is one of the most versatile and freely collaborative artists of his generation. A product of Los Angeles' rich music community, the multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and vocalist has performed and recorded extensively with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Lalah Hathaway, Herbie Hancock, and Kendrick Lamar, and earned his first Grammy nominations for his contributions to the latter's good kid, m.A.A.d. city and To Pimp a Butterfly. As a leader, Martin has an abundant discography synthesizing R&B, jazz, and hip-hop in communal fashion. It includes full-lengths such as his early street album Locke High (2008), the Grammy-nominated efforts Velvet Portraits (2016) and Drones (2021), and a slew of solo and duo projects such as Fine Tune (2023), I Left My Heart in Ladera (also 2023), and Nintindo Soul (2024). Martin operates Sounds of Crenshaw, which since 2016 has been the outlet for his prolific endeavors that also include his Grammy-nominated group Dinner Party. The first record the young Martin bought was EPMD's single "You Gots to Chill." While his love of hip-hop continued to grow, he also began to appreciate jazz through his father, Curly Martin, a native Nebraskan and revered drummer who was inducted into the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame. Having played keyboards for several years, the younger Martin picked up the saxophone at the age of 13, taking everlasting inspiration from Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Jackie McLean. While attending Locke High School, the music program of which previously developed noted musicians such as Ndugu Chancler, Patrice Rushen, and Gerald Albright (and would later produce Martin associates such as Kamasi Washington and Thundercat), he moved up to first chair of the California All-State Honors Jazz Band. Gigs with Billy Higgins, P. Diddy, and Kirk Franklin followed shortly thereafter. Martin also began a long-term association with Snoop Dogg and was given a college scholarship from Jay Leno after the Tonight Show Band's Kevin Eubanks heard his playing. Martin kicked off his production career in 2004 with Snoop, Warren G, and Nate Dogg's group 213, and Shawnna, among others, and the next year he landed a track with Warren G along with three other cuts on the collection Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents: Welcome to tha Chuuch - Da Album. Snoop presented Martin's 2007 mixtape Signal Flow, and also gave Martin his first production credit on a single when "Neva Have 2 Worry" was issued in 2008. That year, Martin also released the street album Locke High, hosted by Snoop and DJ Drama with early influences DJ Quik and Kurupt among the other contributors. Over the next few years, he cultivated his solo discography, partnered with DJ Devi Dev on the mixtape Here, My Dear and the Sex EP, and joined forces with rapper Murs for Are Melrose. Martin co-produced the title track and produced "Real" for Kendrick Lamar's 2012 breakthrough good kid, m.A.A.d. city, and earned his first recognition from the Recording Academy when it was nominated for Album of the Year. Martin's own 3ChordFold arrived in 2013 with appearances from Lamar, Snoop, Ab-Soul, and Robert Glasper. It was his first solo release to register on a Billboard chart, landing at number 43 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Martin racked up an assortment of credits throughout the ensuing years on albums by Big K.R.I.T., Travi$ Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, and YG. He became a two-time Grammy nominee in 2015 when Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, featuring "King Kunta" among several of his co-productions, was up for Album of the Year. Signed as a leader to the Ropeadope label, Martin released Velvet Portraits in 2016. Featuring Glasper, Thundercat, and Lalah Hathaway, the album peaked at number two on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, and its relaxed grooves also won over the Recording Academy with a Grammy nomination in the category of Best R&B Album. Continued studio sessions and live activity with numerous collaborators, including Herbie Hancock, preceded 2017's Sounds of Crenshaw, Vol. 1. Credited to the Pollyseeds, it was another multi-genre affair, involved the likes of Glasper, Kamasi Washington, and Rose Gold, and entered the jazz chart at number three. Martin then took part in Glasper's R+R=Now group, which in 2018 released the Blue Note LP Collagically Speaking. By the end of the 2010s, Martin's extensive list of side credits had lengthened with Snoop, Lamar, and Washington, as well as ScHoolboy Q, Rapsody, and 2 Chainz, all continuing to seek him as an instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter. A flurry of cross-genre projects arrived throughout 2020. Among them were short-form headlining releases such as Soul Juice, Conscious Conversations, Sinthesize, and Impedance, and the standalone single "Pig Feet," an unflinching Black rebel anthem. There was also the full-length Terrace Martin's Gray Area Live at the JammJam and the Ric Wilson collaboration They Call Me Disco. Most notable of all, Martin's all-star group Dinner Party -- Martin, Washington, Glasper, and 9th Wonder -- issued both their self-titled debut and the Grammy-nominated Dinner Party: Dessert. Martin's own Drones, a conceptual LP years in the making, landed in 2021, and was up for a Grammy in the category of Best Progressive R&B Album. In 2023, Dinner Party reconvened for Enigmatic Society, a set followed only three months later by Martin's Fine Tune, an effort breezier and more jazz-rooted than Drones. Fine Tune contained interpretations of SZA's "Snooze" and H.E.R.'s "Damage," the latter of which featured harpist Brandee Younger and bassist Derrick Hodge. This was quickly followed by Curly, a free-flowing effort representing the spirit of Martin's father, and an EP with James Fauntleroy titled Nova. I Left My Heart in Ladera, a collaboration with Alex Isley, included a cover of Sade's "Paradise." Martin also released albums with Calvin Keys (The Near North Side) and Gallant (Sneek), and rounded out the prolific year with the instrumental hip-hop holiday album Ornamental and 24kGoldn collaboration "Madness." Martin was just as restless in 2024. Her Thoughts was another EP of covers, including songs by Coco Jones and Snoh Aalegra. Two Drink Minimum was an acoustic jazz trio date with Martin on drums, Ben Williams on bass, and Paul Cornish on piano. Grounded facilitated mental well-being with a set of calm ambient compositions. Nintindo Soul, which contained collaborations with the likes of 9th Wonder, Cautious Clay, Elena Pinderhughes, and Buddy, fused R&B and hip-hop. Martin appeared the same year on recordings by Kamasi Washington, Mustard, Rapsody, and Roddy Ricch.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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In the magazine...

Kamasi Washington, Sax of the Angels
Kendrick Lamar, the Anatomy of a Phenom
Dinner Party with the Four Jazzmen!