Shaun Martin, the Grammy-winning musician, producer, keyboardist for Snarky Puppy, and musical director for gospel artist Kirk Franklin, has died. He was 45.
Born in Dallas, TX on August 23rd, 1978, Martin took to music at a very early age, starting piano lessons at just four years old. He studied jazz and classical music while also developing a love of gospel in church. He began working with gospel choir director Kirk Franklin before graduating from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Artsand later wrote, played on, and produced Erykah Badu‘s sophom*ore album, Mama’s Gunwhile earning a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree from University of North Texas. He went on to work with other big names such as Chaka Khan,Snoop Dogg,N’Dambi,Fred Hammond, and Myron Butler and earned four Grammy Awards for his work with Kirk Franklin, plus another three as a member of Snarky Puppy. He also found time to launch a solo career, releasing his debut album, Seven Summers,in 2015.
Martin earned recognition as one of the most influential players in Dallas’ eclectic live music scene, which existed at the confluence of jazz, hip-hop, and R&B, and started playing with Snarky Puppy as the band was still developing at the University of North Texas. In a 2022 interview with L4LM, bandleader Michael League credited Martin and other Dallas musicians with helping to shape the group’s sound and overall approach.
“The band was a college band sounding like a college band for years,” League reflected. “I think that once people like [Robert]Sput[Searight] andBobby Sparksand Bernard Wright andShaun Martin, once they started playing with the band, they changed everything. It pushed us into this totally new direction. And it was incredible because it was like we were making news. Suddenly the people who were influencing our music were in our band. And that’s like a very special moment I think in the history of Snarky Puppy. The music got a lot funkier, it got a lot tighter, it got a lot more emotional also. It got a lot simpler, less brainy.”
An Interview With Shaun Martin (2015)
In his own L4LM interview from 2015, Martin offered insight into the joy he found playing with Snarky Puppy, even when touring conditions with the ensemble were rougher than his other gigs. “I always respected the hustle of Snarky Puppy,” he said. “I remember one day I literally went from staying at the Ritz Carlton in Detroit to sleeping on somebody’s floor in Lafayette, LA with Snarky Puppy, and it was like, ‘I love sleeping on the floor!’ … The music I make with Snarky, it’s worth that bus ride, it’s worth that van ride.”
In addition to his musical accomplishments, Martin was an active member of his local community, serving as the Minister of Music at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, TX. He also strove to impact the entire nation’s youth by starting fine arts academies around the U.S. In 2020, he was among the performers for L4LM‘s Justice Comes Alive, a one-day virtual festival harnessing the power of music to bring about collective change in response to racial inequality.
Shaun Martin – “The Yellow Jacket”, “Lovely Day (Bill Withers) – Justice Comes Alive
Martin passed away on Saturday, August 3rd after spending over a year under close medical supervision while recovering from a stroke suffered in April 2023. He is survived by his wife Monica Wilson Martin and his son Harlem Martin.
“Yesterday, we lost a music legend and, more importantly, a beautiful, luminous human being,” Snarky Puppy wrote in a statement posted to social media. “Shaun Martin touched so many people during his life and through the beautiful immortality of music, will continue to do so. There’s so much that can be said but words can’t do justice. RIP”
Friends and peers of Martin’s will host a benefit concert on September 14th at Dallas’ The Black Academy of Arts and Lettersto both honor his musical contributions and raise funds to help cover his medical bills. Billed as A Salute to Pianist Extraordinaire Shaun Martin, the event’s lineup includes his former collaborators Erykah Badu and Snarky Puppy, singer-songwriter Norah Jones, who was a classmate of Martin’s at both BTWHSPVA and UNT, as well asRobert Glasper and Terrace Martin,Cory Henry, and many more. Tickets and more details are available here.
