Biography
The Seattle percussionist Davis Martin bears no relation to the many musicians known as David Martin—a distinction that would be easier to maintain if editors did not so frequently alter the first name’s final letter, an error rate that would leave most drummers unemployed. Far from struggling for work, Martin has instead functioned as a vital connector in Seattle’s most inventive groups to emerge from the damp, caffeine-fueled metropolis after the middle of the 1990s. Among these is Maktub, formed at the beginning of 1996 by musicians who, like Martin himself, were already established presences in the city’s alternative-music venues.
Vocalist and keyboardist Reggie Watts numbered among the players who had previously worked alongside the drummer in various projects led by composer and producer Steve Fisk. Martin has maintained a position between two divergent currents of Seattle music: free improvisation, which largely dispenses with steady pulse, and groove-based music, which depends on that rhythmic foundation the way a nocturnal predator depends on circulation. He has also appeared and recorded with the Spice band and with the hip-hop duo the Sharpshooters.
Vocalist and keyboardist Reggie Watts numbered among the players who had previously worked alongside the drummer in various projects led by composer and producer Steve Fisk. Martin has maintained a position between two divergent currents of Seattle music: free improvisation, which largely dispenses with steady pulse, and groove-based music, which depends on that rhythmic foundation the way a nocturnal predator depends on circulation. He has also appeared and recorded with the Spice band and with the hip-hop duo the Sharpshooters.
Singles