RitaZero
03-14-2008, 06:36 AM
"Meester" passed away Thursday afternoon. He was a wonderful and funny guy, a GREAT musician. I will miss him immensely. From the Zero webpage:
Zero Saxophonist Martin Fierro began his musical training at age 5, when he started with classical piano lessons. While in high school, he switched to clarinet and tenor sax after being strongly influenced by the sax sound of the Fats Domino and Little Richard bands. Martin (pronounced Mar-Teen) began playing before live audiences at the age of "14 or15" in his native El Paso, Texas. "There was no such thing as a high school life for me" relates Martin. "I was working 7 nights a week and 2 afternoons on weekends." By his late teens, he was in Los Angeles hanging out with blues musicians and learning to play the blues. For the next 10 years, Martin split his time between LA and Mexico City, where he had a successful jazz quartet. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1968, Martin has been constantly active in the local music scene, playing with Sir Douglas Quintet, Mother Earth and Legion of Mary (with Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders) among others. Martin also toured briefly with the Grateful Dead in 1973, when they premiered the "Wake Of The Flood" album, on which Martin also played. A member of Zero since 1984, Martin is the band's on-stage spokesperson.
Zero Saxophonist Martin Fierro began his musical training at age 5, when he started with classical piano lessons. While in high school, he switched to clarinet and tenor sax after being strongly influenced by the sax sound of the Fats Domino and Little Richard bands. Martin (pronounced Mar-Teen) began playing before live audiences at the age of "14 or15" in his native El Paso, Texas. "There was no such thing as a high school life for me" relates Martin. "I was working 7 nights a week and 2 afternoons on weekends." By his late teens, he was in Los Angeles hanging out with blues musicians and learning to play the blues. For the next 10 years, Martin split his time between LA and Mexico City, where he had a successful jazz quartet. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1968, Martin has been constantly active in the local music scene, playing with Sir Douglas Quintet, Mother Earth and Legion of Mary (with Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders) among others. Martin also toured briefly with the Grateful Dead in 1973, when they premiered the "Wake Of The Flood" album, on which Martin also played. A member of Zero since 1984, Martin is the band's on-stage spokesperson.