Martin Alex Aucoin

Martin Alex Aucoin is a multi-faceted musician with a host of influences. As a keyboard player, he has soaked up styles ranging from jazz greats Wynton Kelly and Ray Charles, to Leon Russell and down home Southern recording aces Hargus "Pig" Robbins and Barry Beckett. As a songwriter, he has filtered Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams, Duke Ellington, Mose Allison, Cole Porter, Thelonius Monk, Horace Silver and more.

Originally from Cape Breton, Martin grew up with Acadian folk songs, Celtic fiddle music, country music, and whatever was on AM radio in the late 60's and 70's. Seeing a clip on television of Joe Cocker and Leon Russell performing "The Letter" from the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour proved to be an epiphany. He soon began to play chords on the family piano and learning tunes by the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, and other pop songs of the day. By the end of high school he developed an interest in jazz and blues through Dave Brubek, Duke Ellington, and Muddy Waters records.

After some soul searching (hitchhiking all over North America, Spain and Morocco, working on a rail gang, tending bar, an aborted stint in the Canadian Armed Forces) he decided to study music seriously and enrolled in Toronto's famed Humber College music program. Essentially a jazz program, Martin studied piano, orchestration, and arranging. He worked his way through college by playing local gigs, and upon graduation, immersed himself in the bustling blues/R&B scene in Toronto. Playing with Juno award winners Morgan Davis and Jack DeKeyser, he was also playing on country sessions in local studios.

Becoming increasingly disenchanted with Toronto and the Canadian music business in general, Martin moved to Nashville, TN in 1990. He soon found work in local night clubs, backing singers of varying talents, where the hours were long and the pay was short. Eventually, he landed a job with one of his favorite singers from his childhood, BJ Thomas. From Hawaii to Alaska, California to New York, Vegas to Timbuktu, it was a whirlwind experience marked by breath-taking views of the USA and bone-crushing boredom on airplanes, buses, and in hotel rooms.

After a year and a half, Martin left the road and set upon the task of breaking down the Nashville studio session door. He supported himself by going back to nightclubs and playing radio shows on the weekend. He was Musical Director on an amateur show airing out of Russellville KY, called "Live at Libby's" and was part of the Grand Ol' Opry radio/tv show for 4 years, playing with the great Cajun singer, Jimmy C. Newman. Songwriter demo sessions began to come in and Martin played on countless songs that were recorded by country greats Garth Brooks, George Strait, John Michael Montgomery and more of the current Nashville stars. Playing on these sessions gave him a sense of structure with regard to his own songs. He also squeezed in some stage time with jazz great Larry Carlton, funkster Tony Joe White, Johnny Gimble (from the Bob Wills band), country-jazz fiddler Vassar Clements, Ricky Van Shelton, Alan Jackson, and others. He raised a small stir when he got a job playing in a Black Baptist church just across the Davidson county line in Lavergne, Tn. Local white church members came to a service at the Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church and brazenly offered him a job at their church. He refused, being more at home on the African-American side of the gospel groove.

Family matters brought Martin back to Toronto in 2000, and he re-integrated himself in the Toronto music scene, playing in blues and R&B bands, playing on country sessions, doing jazz gigs and writing sardonic and heartfelt songs suited to a countryman living in the city.

The beat goes on.....

Currently, Martin is a nominee for the 2008 East Coast Music Awards in the jazz category for his own album "So Far". He is also in the running for the 2008 Maple Blues Awards as producer and songwriter of the year for his work on the Johnny Max Band album "A Lesson I've Learned".

In addition to recording his own album, Martin has played on numerous projects for other artists as well. SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
Johnny Max Band: "A Lesson I've Learned" - Blues Johnny Max Band: "Ride and Roll" The Wilkinsons: "Home" - Country Jack DeKeyser: "Silver Blues" - Rock/Blues Jack DeKeyser: "Hard Working Man" BJ Thomas: "Still Standing here" - Pop BJ Thomas: "Back/Forward" Mike Skinner & Kevin Cooke: "It's Fine" - Jazz/Fusion	Gary Kendall: "Dusty & Pearl" - Blues Malleus: "In Time" - Rock Forgery: "The F Word" - Rock Crystal Gage: "No Stone Unturned" - Country Skratch 3: "Crash & Burn" - Ska L. W. Simms: "Defining Moments" - Folk Los Gatos: - Latin/Blues

OTHER SITES ABOUT MARTIN:

MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/martinalexaucoin
CD BABY: www.cdbaby.com/cd/martinalexaucoin

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