Mr. Martini

Mr. Martini is the fruit of my many years of playing jazz, pop, and funk with various fantastic musicians. When you are hired to play jazz, it’s more often than not at different social functions, i.e. receptions, weddings, and birthday parties, often at the begin to get things rolling.

This has resulted in me playing all genres of music with a number of different musicians, music that could often be tagged ‘cocktail music’. Every Sunday for two years I took part in jam sessions at the legendary venue Factory In Iceland (formerly known as Grand Rokk). During these jam sessions, the group started taking requests from the crowd, often classic pop and rock songs. We played Prince, Deep Purple, and endless other artists in jazz and funk versions. I really enjoyed playing these songs, doing it in my own style and allowing the melodies to sing through my saxophone. This experiment of ours became very popular, in the end leading to the making of this album


Two years ago I decided to form a trio around this concept, a band that would be able to take on any kind of gig in this style. To soften the sound of the trio I decided to use percussions instead of a traditional drum kit, opting for a double bass to form a solid foundation.


I simply fell in love with the sound that the combination of these three elements formed. Mr. Martini is therefore, in essence, a highly developed cocktail band that I decided to make my first solo recording and album.