(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- Tickets are now on sale for a solo show by Medeski Martin & Wood percussionist, Billy Martin, on Sunday, July 30, 2023 at The Black Box's new Englewood loft space, located on the 2nd Floor at 8 East Palisade Ave (between Van Brunt and Dean Street). Designed for people of all ages and backgrounds, this mind-blowing, unique, and soulful solo performance at 8:00pm that evening will take you to places beyond the imagination -- all continuing an ongoing residency for Mr. Martin at The Black Box.
Billy Martin was born in NYC in 1963 to a Radio City Rockette and a concert violinist. At age 17, he devoted himself to music and dove into Manhattan’s thriving, eclectic musical landscape. In the years to follow, he honed his craft everywhere from Broadway orchestra pits to Brazilian nightclubs and burgeoning underground performance spaces. In the late 1980’s East Village Martin found his home (and his artistic voice) playing at the original Knitting Factory on Houston Street with John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, The John Lurie National Orchestra, John Zorn’s Cobra ensembles, and many other musical groups.
From the roots of the downtown scene he emerged with Medeski Martin and Wood, bridging the harmonic complexity of jazz, the conversational fluency of free improvisation, and the groove and swagger of classic R&B and funk. A series of albums and high-profile collaborations with John Scofield, John Zorn, iggy Pop, Natalie Merchant, and others, brought the band international acclaim.
Tickets for the performance are just $20 general admission, and are on sale now at www.blackboxpac.com. For all Black Box events, advance tickets are available until two hours before show times, with CASH or VENMO accepted at the door.
Martin has relentlessly pursued diverse musical contexts, from free improvisation to chamber compositions to film scores. Much of his work is available via his Amulet Records label, which recently released the Road to Jajouka—a series of collaborations (produced by Martin) between the Master Musicians of Jajouka and such artists as Ornette Coleman, Flea, Marc Ribot, John Zorn, Lee Ranaldo, Bill Laswell, Mickey Hart, MMW and more.
Martin is also an accomplished filmmaker and visual artist, whose work has been exhibited in solo and group installations around the world including 2014’s Cartegena de indias Bienal in Colombia and the Drawing Sound series at The Drawing Center in NYC (2015)
Billy is currently Executive Artistic Director and CEO of the legendary Creative Music Studio.
For further information on The Black Box's 2023 Season of new and under produced works by world-class writers and artists, please visit www.blackboxpac.com and check them out on socials @blackboxpac.
