Ian Martin, an accomplished bassist/writer/producer was born and raised in Toronto Canada. Ian began his musical journey in his father’s church; a musical hybrid of traditional/contemporary American gospel, worship songs, and reggae seasoned hymns. He started on piano at 8yrs, and then switched to drums at 11. At 16 the bass chair in the church youth choir opened up so he began playing bass, which has remained his principal instrument to this day.
At 17 he started “Full Assurance”, a vocally lead gospel group performing around Toronto's gospel music scene. This early period gave him an outlet to develop his compositions and arrangements while planting the seeds to become a multi faceted music professional.
In 1990, he left for Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music. There he was introduced to his new musical love- Jazz and after the great advice of Professor's Dave Clark and Bill Pierce he started to play the acoustic bass. In 1992 he came back to Toronto to take general education courses and start his professional sojourn. He began playing in local clubs with many of the city’s finest musicians, and to his fortune with Canadian jazz/blues legend Salome Bey. Shortly there after Ian was gaining a reputation as a very solid bassist who doubled on both electric and acoustic with a great feel and driving swing.
In 1994 Ian moved back to Boston and declared Film Scoring as his major. Not only would this be a great career choice in and of itself, but would also widen his compositional/writing abilities and provide greater depth to his songwriting.
In 2001 he moved to Los Angeles, and began working almost immediately upon arriving. In the early LA years, Ian gained a reputation as an incredibly skilled and solid bassist who could cross genres effortlessly. From KC and JoJo, to Angela Bofil, to Barry Manilow, Ian’s resume was becoming a who’s who of the industry.
In 2005 Ian released “The Way” his second effort as a solo artist. It was extremely well received in Canada, US and the Europe. UK’s Expansion records had licensed the CD to market for that audience. Ian’s music has since appeared on countless international compilations, and TV networks MTV, Lifetime, “E” and A&E.
2010 Ian teamed with the very accomplished producer/composer/songwriter Paula Gallitano to form writing group “Playground.” Producing tracks for artists, TV and film the group in making a giant splash in the music community.
Ian has had a stellar career thus far, and it’s far from over. Between working with artists like David Foster, Patti Austin, or Chris Mann, Ian is producing other artist and working on his third solo project due out this spring.
At 17 he started “Full Assurance”, a vocally lead gospel group performing around Toronto's gospel music scene. This early period gave him an outlet to develop his compositions and arrangements while planting the seeds to become a multi faceted music professional.
In 1990, he left for Boston to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music. There he was introduced to his new musical love- Jazz and after the great advice of Professor's Dave Clark and Bill Pierce he started to play the acoustic bass. In 1992 he came back to Toronto to take general education courses and start his professional sojourn. He began playing in local clubs with many of the city’s finest musicians, and to his fortune with Canadian jazz/blues legend Salome Bey. Shortly there after Ian was gaining a reputation as a very solid bassist who doubled on both electric and acoustic with a great feel and driving swing.
In 1994 Ian moved back to Boston and declared Film Scoring as his major. Not only would this be a great career choice in and of itself, but would also widen his compositional/writing abilities and provide greater depth to his songwriting.
In 2001 he moved to Los Angeles, and began working almost immediately upon arriving. In the early LA years, Ian gained a reputation as an incredibly skilled and solid bassist who could cross genres effortlessly. From KC and JoJo, to Angela Bofil, to Barry Manilow, Ian’s resume was becoming a who’s who of the industry.
In 2005 Ian released “The Way” his second effort as a solo artist. It was extremely well received in Canada, US and the Europe. UK’s Expansion records had licensed the CD to market for that audience. Ian’s music has since appeared on countless international compilations, and TV networks MTV, Lifetime, “E” and A&E.
2010 Ian teamed with the very accomplished producer/composer/songwriter Paula Gallitano to form writing group “Playground.” Producing tracks for artists, TV and film the group in making a giant splash in the music community.
Ian has had a stellar career thus far, and it’s far from over. Between working with artists like David Foster, Patti Austin, or Chris Mann, Ian is producing other artist and working on his third solo project due out this spring.
