Marty Grosz

Martin Oliver Grosz, Jazz Guitarist, Vocalist and Jazz Historian, which sums it up. 

His musical soup, mostly served hot, features the best from his guitar heroes, Carl Kress, Dick McDonough, Eddie Condon, George Van Eps, and Eddie Lang together with the flavor of ‘hot” swingers the likes of Fats Waller and Henry “Red’ Allen. His intimate relationship with the forementioned and key plays across the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s runs deep as he continues to mine, digest, and grow his art. When called to pen and paper, he delivers liner notes, scribblings, articles, and such filled with a unique brand of analysis, humor, and pungent criticism. Looking for a good read, Marty Grosz is your man. 

Born 1930 in Berlin, Germany, grew up and educated in NYC, settled in Chicago for nearly 20 years, it took one phone call from Bob Wilber in 1975 to return the guitarist to the apple as a member of Soprano Summit. Martin Oliver’s timing couldn’t have been better.

1975

Brandishing an acoustic archtop guitar (Stromberg in 1975?), Marty brought to Soprano Summit a harmonic and rhythmic foundation unlike anything heard in NYC at the time (or anywhere else for that matter). With a setup of heavy gauge strings, tuned Bb-F-C-G-B-D (ala Carl Kress: Bb-F-C-G-A-D), high action, and mighty chops, this was (and is) a thunderous tool in his hands. Add to that a mix of classy vocals and an uncanny ability to charm and work an audience (ad-libbed by the way), Marty Grosz was/is a stellar package.

Striking “jazz” gold Marty found himself in NYC dead center in what can only be recounted as a classic jazz renaissance, albeit a short one. Clubs, concerts, jazz societies, piano joints abound in Gotham and the surrounding area, many filled with the sounds (and a good number of the original musicians that made the music) echoing the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Most significantly, there was a plethora of classic jazz fans on hand to soak up and support these sounds. Touring and recording full-time with Soprano Summit, his phone kept ringing landing him top-shelf gigs with the New York Jazz Repertory Company and like-minded jazzers. At the time, there was a feeling that “something” special was happening for the music, a rebirth maybe? 

Two ensembles epitomized this revival as such and its potential future. Spearheaded by the Ruby Braff-George Barnes Quartet (1974-1977?), and Soprano Summit (1975-1979), these two ensembles had much in common; a lone acoustic archtop guitar as its harmonic bed (Braff & Barnes: Wayne Wright, Soprano Summit: Marty Grosz), co-leaders who were well-seasoned, playing at the peak of their powers, temperamental, and musically connected (their chemistry and improvisational interplay left you thrilled and inspired), with exceptional taste in repertoire (SS: Prince Of Wails, If You Were The Only Girl In The World, Netcha’s Dream, B&B: Looking At You, Ooh, That Kiss, Here, There And Everywhere) that perfectly fit the chamber-like quality of the ensemble. This didn’t prevent them from burning hot,  ultimately too hot (sparks were known to fly both on & off the bandstand for these units). At the core, regardless of tempo or work, these band’s swung … mightily! Class acts they were, sadly, neither made it into the next decade.

INSERT SOPRANO SUMMIT AUDIO CLIP: Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland HERE

Soprano Summit-Recorded Live At The Illiana Jazz Club (Illinois, USA), 1976, Storyville Records

INSERT BRAFF-BARNES QUARTET AUDIO CLIP Thou Swell HERE

The Ruby Braff-George Barnes Quartet-Live At The New School (NYC, USA), 1974, Chiaroscuro Records, CDCSO126

As the decades rolled by, the music business and the culture continued down another path, one that had no room for this style of music. Put in the mix an aging and ultimately vanishing fan base (a new set of classic jazz fans were not in the cards), promoters, venues, and boutique record labels saw the writing on the wall … result, the gigs dried up.

Some thirty years ago the guitarist himself summed it up in liners notes to a Soprano Summit compact disc reissue “… the clubs that nurtured local talent seven nights a week, allowing groups to work steadily and get their acts together, are a thing of the past. So where can they hear the seasoned players?  Everywhere and nowhere; for we’ve become nomads. One week a jazz party here, the next a concert there, and thankful to be asked. We crisscross the globe, usually alone, to play with different back-up players every night, hardly the way to build the sort of group rapport that improvised music demands.”

So, there you have it. 

On his own since the 1970’s Marty developed a devoted following for his small, swinging combo’s of handpicked minstrels in both live and recorded settings, which he presides over to this day. When called for, in his own right, he’s a self-contained juggernaut “just a little boy and his guitar” able to entertain an audience and keep them on the edge of their seats with only his voice, instrument and  tales of yore. One of a kind, Marty Grosz is a jazz troubadour.