Texas trumpet legend Martin Banks passed away Friday, August 20th here in Austin. Reports I have are that he suffered a heart attack on Tues., followed by a brain aneurism(?) in the hospital causing his death.

I had the pleasure of playing with Martin many times. He was a dear friend and I'll miss him very much. As Martin used to say ever so sloooowly..."Dawg-gawnnit!"

My local heroes are disappearing. Larry Williams (wonderful tenor), G.T. Hogan and now Martin Banks. All gone in the last 6 months.

If you haven't heard Martin...check out Harold Land's "Take Aim": Dexter Gordon's "The Resurgence of": Archie Shepp's "Magic of Juju" to name a few....

Bye now Martin.

Free For All...

Did you know Martin Bnks when you lived in Austin? If so, can you tell us more about him....got to admit, I'm clueless.

Martin Banks

Here's some info on him. I did play with him many times in the 80s. A good solid trumpet player with a soulful vibe, and he played the role of mentor to many of the local musicians. A really nice guy.

I expect the Austin board members can discuss him with better depth than I can.

Soul Stream mentioned several relevant recordings to check out. How was he sounding as of late, SS?

RIP

Found this on the Web too:

http://weeklywire.com/ww/05-03-99/austin_music_feature3.html

Sad to see him go...

I'm sorry to hear this. I've always liked Martin Banks' playing, particularly with the ensemble on the Roland Kirk 'Slightly Latin' LP. He had a nice sound on flugel. Also great contributions to Jimmy Woods 'Awakening' and the Harold Land and Archie Shepp albums previously mentioned.

Sorry to hear this.
RIP Martin Banks.

Maybe he and G.T. are starting a band together.