Ayako Asahi News Today

By age 35, when Pat Martino learned that he might have only a few hours to live, he was already considered one of jazz music's finest guitarists. He had developed a sleek and fluid style modeled after guitarist Wes Montgomery, started touring as a teenager and became known for his bracing lines, freewheeling harmonies and dexterity on the fretboard.

Pat Martino, the internationally beloved jazz guitarist who famously had to learn how to play his instrument all over again midway through his career, has died at 77.

He was one of the genre’s most acclaimed players when brain surgery left him with no memory. But he recovered and made music for another three decades.