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Terrace Martin is one of the most versatile and freely collaborative artists of his generation. A product of Los Angeles' rich music community, the multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and vocalist has performed and recorded extensively with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Lalah Hathaway, Herbie Hancock, and Kendrick Lamar, and earned his first Grammy nominations for his contributions to the latter's good kid, m.A.A.d. city and To Pimp a Butterfly. As a leader, Martin has an abundant discography synthesizing R&B, jazz, and hip-hop in communal fashion. It includes full-lengths such as his early street album Locke High (2008), the Grammy-nominated efforts Velvet Portraits (2016) and Drones (2021), and a slew of solo and duo projects such as Fine Tune (2023), I Left My Heart in Ladera (also 2023), and Nintindo Soul (2024). Martin operates Sounds of Crenshaw, which since 2016 has been the outlet for his prolific endeavors that also include his Grammy-nominated group Dinner Party.

The first record the young Martin bought was EPMD's single "You Gots to Chill." While his love of hip-hop continued to grow, he also began to appreciate jazz through his father, Curly Martin, a native Nebraskan and revered drummer who was inducted into the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame. Having played keyboards for several years, the younger Martin picked up the saxophone at the age of 13, taking everlasting inspiration from Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Jackie McLean. While attending Locke High School, the music program of which previously developed noted musicians such as Ndugu Chancler, Patrice Rushen, and Gerald Albright (and would later produce Martin associates such as Kamasi Washington and Thundercat), he moved up to first chair of the California All-State Honors Jazz Band. Gigs with Billy Higgins, P. Diddy, and Kirk Franklin followed shortly thereafter. Martin also began a long-term association with Snoop Dogg and was given a college scholarship from Jay Leno after the Tonight Show Band's Kevin Eubanks heard his playing.

Martin kicked off his production career in 2004 with Snoop, Warren G, and Nate Dogg's group 213, and Shawnna, among others, and the next year he landed a track with Warren G along with three other cuts on the collection Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents: Welcome to tha Chuuch - Da Album. Snoop presented Martin's 2007 mixtape Signal Flow, and also gave Martin his first production credit on a single when "Neva Have 2 Worry" was issued in 2008. That year, Martin also released the street album Locke High, hosted by Snoop and DJ Drama with early influences DJ Quik and Kurupt among the other contributors. Over the next few years, he cultivated his solo discography, partnered with DJ Devi Dev on the mixtape Here, My Dear and the Sex EP, and joined forces with rapper Murs for Are Melrose. Martin co-produced the title track and produced "Real" for Kendrick Lamar's 2012 breakthrough good kid, m.A.A.d. city, and earned his first recognition from the Recording Academy when it was nominated for Album of the Year. Martin's own 3ChordFold arrived in 2013 with appearances from Lamar, Snoop, Ab-Soul, and Robert Glasper. It was his first solo release to register on a Billboard chart, landing at number 43 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Martin racked up an assortment of credits throughout the ensuing years on albums by Big K.R.I.T., Travi$ Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, and YG. He became a two-time Grammy nominee in 2015 when Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, featuring "King Kunta" among several of his co-productions, was up for Album of the Year. Signed as a leader to the Ropeadope label, Martin released Velvet Portraits in 2016. Featuring Glasper, Thundercat, and Lalah Hathaway, the album peaked at number two on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart, and its relaxed grooves also won over the Recording Academy with a Grammy nomination in the category of Best R&B Album. Continued studio sessions and live activity with numerous collaborators, including Herbie Hancock, preceded 2017's Sounds of Crenshaw, Vol. 1. Credited to the Pollyseeds, it was another multi-genre affair, involved the likes of Glasper, Kamasi Washington, and Rose Gold, and entered the jazz chart at number three. Martin then took part in Glasper's R+R=Now group, which in 2018 released the Blue Note LP Collagically Speaking. By the end of the 2010s, Martin's extensive list of side credits had lengthened with Snoop, Lamar, and Washington, as well as ScHoolboy Q, Rapsody, and 2 Chainz, all continuing to seek him as an instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter.

A flurry of cross-genre projects arrived throughout 2020. Among them were short-form headlining releases such as Soul Juice, Conscious Conversations, Sinthesize, and Impedance, and the standalone single "Pig Feet," an unflinching Black rebel anthem. There was also the full-length Terrace Martin's Gray Area Live at the JammJam and the Ric Wilson collaboration They Call Me Disco. Most notable of all, Martin's all-star group Dinner Party -- Martin, Washington, Glasper, and 9th Wonder -- issued both their self-titled debut and the Grammy-nominated Dinner Party: Dessert. Martin's own Drones, a conceptual LP years in the making, landed in 2021, and was up for a Grammy in the category of Best Progressive R&B Album.

In 2023, Dinner Party reconvened for Enigmatic Society, a set followed only three months later by Martin's Fine Tune, an effort breezier and more jazz-rooted than Drones. Fine Tune contained interpretations of SZA's "Snooze" and H.E.R.'s "Damage," the latter of which featured harpist Brandee Younger and bassist Derrick Hodge. This was quickly followed by Curly, a free-flowing effort representing the spirit of Martin's father, and an EP with James Fauntleroy titled Nova. I Left My Heart in Ladera, a collaboration with Alex Isley, included a cover of Sade's "Paradise." Martin also released albums with Calvin Keys (The Near North Side) and Gallant (Sneek), and rounded out the prolific year with the instrumental hip-hop holiday album Ornamental and 24kGoldn collaboration "Madness." Martin was just as restless in 2024. Her Thoughts was another EP of covers, including songs by Coco Jones and Snoh Aalegra. Two Drink Minimum was an acoustic jazz trio date with Martin on drums, Ben Williams on bass, and Paul Cornish on piano. Grounded facilitated mental well-being with a set of calm ambient compositions. Nintindo Soul, which contained collaborations with the likes of 9th Wonder, Cautious Clay, Elena Pinderhughes, and Buddy, fused R&B and hip-hop. Martin appeared the same year on recordings by Kamasi Washington, Mustard, Rapsody, and Roddy Ricch. ~ Andy Kellman

Jazz guitarist Calvin Keys was a legend among soul-jazz fans for his appearances as a session and touring musician and a catalog of releases under his own name. His 1971 Black Jazz debut, Shawn-Neeq, and his sophomore outing for the label, 1974's Proceed with Caution, are both considered jazz-funk classics. Keys' playing style was lean and muscular. His unique phrasing balanced sophisticated jazz harmonics with funky R&B and soul grooves. From the '60s onward, Keys worked as a session and touring player with Ahmad Jamal and others. His own recordings, including 1985's Full Court Press, 2001's Detours Into Unconscious Rhythms, and 2013's Electric Keys have all been celebrated in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The star-studded Blue Keys followed in 2022 and included saxophonist Gary Bartz, trombonist Steve Turre, and bassist Henry Franklin.

Keys was born in 1943 in Omaha, Nebraska. His first musical influence was his father Otis, a well-known drummer on the city's music scene. He passed the music bug on to Calvin, who picked up the guitar early. Keys eventually landed his first notable gig as a member of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's band when he was 17. He first hit the road with sax player Little Walkin' Willie that same year before moving to Kansas City. There, his first gigs were with Preston Love (of the Count Basie Orchestra) and later the Frank Edwards Organ Trio. After woodshedding with Edwards, he landed a spot in organist Jimmy Smith's road trio. After leaving Smith, Keys worked for the rest of the '60s with Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, and Richard "Groove" Holmes.

Keys moved to Los Angeles in 1970. In 1971, he signed to Gene Russell's fledgling Black Jazz label and cut his debut album, the now-legendary Shawn-Neeq. He gigged on his own before auditioning for the Ray Charles Orchestra. Keys' unique phrasing and his ability to balance sophisticated jazz harmonics with tough R&B and soul grooves were showcased nightly in the Charles band. In 1973, Black Jazz released Keys' second offering, Proceed with Caution. He did session work for the label, and played on Russell's Talk to My Lady and Doug Carn's seminal Adam's Apple. He toured in support of Proceed with Caution before relocating to San Francisco in 1975 and focusing on live and session work. He played on Billy Brooks' jazz-funk classic Windows of the Mind before joining Ahmad Jamal's group in late 1975 and remaining until 1980. Keys recorded six albums with the pianist, beginning with Genetic Walk and 1976's Live at Oil Can Harry's, and followed important creative shifts in the pianist's creative direction on albums such as Steppin' Out with a Dream, Intervals, One, and Night Song (the latter for Motown).

When not touring with Jamal, Keys worked in live settings and recorded sessions with luminaries John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Marshall, Leon Williams, Bob Braye, Ed Kelly, Eddie Duran, Bruce Forman, Junius Simmons, and Eddie Moore. In 1976, he also played on Doug and Jean Carn's Ovation album Higher Ground. In 1977, Keys released Criss Cross for Ovation. Produced by Russell, his sidemen on the date included pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist Henry Franklin, drummer Leon Ndugu Chancler, and trumpeter Oscar Brashear. He also cut One and Night Song with Jamal to close out the decade.

The '80s proved similarly fruitful for Keys. He was a first-call studio and live sideman. He amassed credits and touring bona fides with Tony Bennett, Pharoah Sanders, and Sonny Stitt. Keys began recording another solo album in 1984. In 1985, Olive Branch Records released tracks from these sessions entitled Full Court Press, and followed it a year later with the remainder of the material on the album Maria's First.

Keys continued playing sessions and performing with touring acts in the Bay Area as well as the occasional Los Angeles gig. In 1991 he was part of the studio band that recorded film composer James Newton Howard's original score for the film Dying Young. Working with his own trio, Keys released Standard Keys on Lifeforce Records in 1992, and his session and live work continued at a relentless pace. He settled down in the Bay area and played his own trio gigs for several years. He made a tour of Europe that resulted in Jamal's Live in Paris 1996. An Evening with Calvin Keys, taken from a radio broadcast, was released that same year.

He was sidelined in 1997 by heart surgery, undergoing a quadruple bypass. Undaunted, he released the widely acclaimed Detours Into Unconscious Rhythms on Wide Hive Records. The large cast included organist Chester Thompson (Ray Charles, Santana) and upright bassist Kenneth Nash (from Jamal's band). After the album's release, Keys toured regionally in the U.S. and Europe before returning to the Bay Area, where he performed with organists Big John Patton, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and Taj Mahal. In 2005 Keys recorded Calvinesque on Silverado. The album hit number 30 on the European jazz charts.

His second Wide Hive release, Vertical Clearance, was issued in 2006. It reunited Keys with Carn, and included Phil Ranelin, Sonny Fortune, Roger Glenn, and Babatunde in its lineup. In 2007 Keys released Hand-Made Portrait on Silverado, and received a tribute from fellow Midwesterner -- and fan -- Pat Metheny, who composed and included the tune "Calvin's Keys" on his album Day Trip. Keys appeared on Ranelin's Living a New Day for Wide Hive and on organist Gloria Coleman's Sweet Missy for Doodlin in 2009. In 2012, Tompkins Square Records re-released Shaw-Neeq exclusively on vinyl. Keys supported it by touring with a band, performing the album in its entirety. In 2018, he released the single "Nigerian Marketplace" with his own quartet, and the following year he played on Marty Krystall's Liquid Krystal Displayed with bassist Buell Neidlinger and drummer Peter Erskine. In 2021, Shawn-Neeq appeared again in Real Gone Music's ambitious Black Jazz catalog reissue program.

In August 2022, Wide Hive released Blue Keys, a star-studded sextet date. Its lineup included bassist and former Black Jazz labelmate Henry Franklin, saxophonist Gary Bartz, trombonist Steve Turre, and conguero Babatunde Lea. The set was produced by Throttle Elevator Music's Gregory Howe. It proved to be his last album. Calvin Keys died on April 14, 2024, at the age of 82. ~ Thom Jurek