Jasun Martz is an American record producer, composer, musician,

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...

, creative director and sculptor who has worked on several #1 internationally best-selling hit records but is probably best known for his contemporary classical symphonies. He has recorded with

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, toured with

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

and helped arrange one of rock music's best-selling hits: "

We Built This City "We Built This City" is a 1985 song by American rock band Starship. It was released as their debut single on their album ''Knee Deep in the Hoopla''. It was written by English musicians Martin Page and Bernie Taupin, who were both living in Los ...

" by

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

. Also a renowned New York based painter and sculptor, Martz has lived in New York, Los Angeles and London, and has created and exhibited "raw

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

" paintings and papier-mâché sculpture inspired by the subway passengers he encounters in each city. He collaborated with French modern master

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what ...

(the founder of ''

art brut Art Brut are a Berlin-based English and German indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, ''It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Je ...

'') on Martz's critically acclaimed avant-garde/ contemporary classical symphony entitled ''The Pillory''.

Life and career

Martz began his music career at an early age, signing his first professional recording and publishing contract at the age of 15. An internationally known musician, composer and producer, he has recorded and toured with numerous celebrated entertainers. Millions have heard his recordings since he recorded on Michael Jackson's Dangerous and Bad albums. He played keyboards and synthesizers on the quadruple platinum #1 hit "

Black or White "Black or White" is a single by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, ''Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it w ...

" from Jackson's ''

Dangerous Dangerous may refer to: Film and television * ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis * '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson * ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...

'' album. It was later included on ''HIStory'', '' Number Ones'' and three video/DVDs. He is the featured harmonica soloist on "Streetwalker", a ''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

'' outtake which later appeared on ''

Bad 25 ''Bad 25'' is the 25th anniversary edition reissue of American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's seventh studio album ''Bad'' (1987). This is the second album by Jackson re-released on its 25th anniversary, the first being ''Thriller 25'' (200 ...

'', as a bonus track on the 2001 Bad Special Edition reissue, and as the flip-side to the UK hit "Cry". Five of Michael Jackson's solo albums – Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory are among the top-sellers of all time and Martz appears on three of the five releases. He has recorded and toured with

, the Japanese progressive rock group The Far East Family Band, and helped arrange

's #1 hit, "

" with Grammy award-winning producer

Bill Bottrell William A. Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has collaborated with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Electric Light Orchestra and Sheryl Crow. Biography Between 1967 and 1970, Bottrell attended Cresc ...

. Bottrell has said Martz "...brought an immediacy and a rock & roll fire" to the Michael Jackson recordings. ''(Sound on Sound, August 2004)''. In an interview in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 2005, Martz said his music is sometimes very wild and not for the faint of heart. He composed and produced a contemporary classical

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

(his second) for the 115-member The Intercontinental Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Choir. ''The Pillory/The Battle'' is a 2-CD set released in 2005 and 2007 and features 2½ hours of Mr. Martz's music. Searching for musical inspiration, Martz climbed to the refugio on Ecuador's Mount Cotopaxi–the world's tallest active volcano. When he descended the very steep slope, he tripped and began a tumble. Martz has said he then had an epiphany for the symphony. The music explores the

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

theory of evolution on the earth 200 million years into the future. It was reported in the New York Times that Mr. Martz said "after the tumble, a wild idea came to me of what the symphony should be." Martz conducted a 40-piece orchestra, the Neoteric Orchestra, in his critically acclaimed first avant-garde symphony The Pillory. The CD features members of

's band

Ruth Underwood Ruth Underwood (born Ruth Komanoff; May 23, 1946) is an American musician best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. She collaborated with the Mothers of In ...

Eddie Jobson Edwin "Eddie" Jobson (born 28 April 1955) is an English musician noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K. and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zap ...

, has received hundreds of international reviews and has often been called a contemporary masterpiece.

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

reviewed The Pillory as a "Top Album Pick" and it was featured in Canadian director Francois Miron's film ''Resolving Power'' (2001, FilmGrafix Studios, Montreal). Martz has also composed for film, television and advertising. Martz is also an internationally known New York based Creative Director in the beauty and fashion industries. He has created advertising campaigns for major brands such as

Max Factor Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Max Factor, Sr., Maksymilian Faktorowicz. Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billio ...

Guess A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

Redken Redken is an American hair care brand owned by L'Oréal Group under the Professional Products division. History The company was founded in 1960 by Jheri Redding and Paula Kent, thus the name, "Red-ken." Redken pioneered the "Scientific Approach ...

Neutrogena Neutrogena Corporation, trading as Neutrogena, is an American company that markets skin care, hair care and cosmetics owned by parent company Johnson & Johnson and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

and many others. Also an inventor, Martz is the creator and owner of many trademarks, copyrights and patents. He was most recently awarded a United States patent for his invention of a sponge storage and disinfecting device. Martz studied at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

;

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

; California State University, Northridge; Art Center College of Design and graduated with honors from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

with a Bachelor's degree in the arts. Jasun Martz has lived in New York since 1997.

Exhibition history

*Love Thy Neighbor (group) Kenise Barnes Fine Art Gallery, Larchmont, New York, August – September 2011 *Harlem Art Project (group) Saatchi & Saatchi, New York City December 2003 *In Dim Light (solo) A five-year retrospective SPA, New York City October 2002 *Oblivious (solo) Gallery @ 135, New York City March 13 – April 1, 2001 *Under the Asphalt (solo) Siberia Gallery,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

City July 21 – August 20, 2000 *Faces in the Dark (solo) Sash Gallery, Glen Ridge, New Jersey, September 7 – October 30, 1999 *About Face (group) Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles July 10 – September 1, 1996 *Under (solo) LCA/LA Galleries, Los Angeles 1994 *Underground (solo) LAM Gallery, London, England 1986

Discography

*Michael Jackson "Bad 25" (Sony/Columbia, 2012) featured solo harmonica *The Arts, the Intercontinental Philharmonic Orchestra, "The Victory Fanfare" (Under The Asphalt, 2011) composer, conductor, producer *The Intercontinental Philharmonic Orchestra. "Young" (The Seol Won Foundation, 2011), composer, conductor, producer *The Arts (featuring Jasun Martz), "light" (Under The Asphalt, 2010) composer, producer, grand piano *Sue Reed "Whose Hat Covers That Sundial?" (Under The Asphalt, 2007) producer, mellotron, drums, bass *The Sin Circle (Under The Asphalt, 2007) producer, composer, musician *Jasun Martz with The Intercontinental Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Choir "The Pillory/The Battle" (Under The Asphalt, 2007, 2005) producer, composer, musician *Jasun Martz with The Neoteric Orchestra "The Pillory" (Under The Asphalt, 2007) producer, composer, musician *The Sin Circle "Freedom", "Alive and Lubricated" motion picture and soundtrack CD (Attack Filmworks, Canada, 2005) producer, composer, musician *Michael Jackson "Number Ones" (Sony/Columbia, 2003) keyboards and synthesizers *The Sin Circle "Freedom" (Attack Records, 2001) producer, composer, musician *Michael Jackson "Bad" "Streetwalker" (Special edition, Sony/Columbia, 2001) featured solo harmonica *Michael Jackson "Cry" "Streetwalker" (Special edition 12"/CD, Sony UK, 2001) featured solo harmonica *Michael Jackson "Dangerous remastered" (Sony/Columbia, 2001) keyboards and synthesizers *Michael Jackson "Greatest Hits" (Sony/Columbia, 2001) keyboards and synthesizer *Michael Jackson "The Short Films/DVD" (Sony/Columbia, 2001) keyboards and synthesizer *Michael Jackson "Video Greatest Hits- History/DVD" (Sony/Columbia, 2001) keyboards and synthesizer *The Sin Circle "Everyone's an Idiot" (Sin Circle, 1999) producer, composer, musician *Michael Jackson "HIStory" (Sony/Columbia, 1995) keyboards and synthesizer *Beck "A Western Harvest Field by Moonlight (Fingerpaint, 1994) art director *Jasun Martz "The Pillory" (Ad Perpetuam Memoriam, 1994) producer, composer, musician *Michael Jackson "Dangerous" (Sony/Columbia, 1991) keyboards and synthesizer *Michael Jackson "Dangerous" Video (director: John Landis, 1991) implemental percussion, vocals *Del Rubio Triplets "Three gals, Three Guitars" (Cabazon, 1988) art director *Starship "We Built This City On Rock and Roll" (RCA, 1985) co-arranger *The Results (1984) bass, vocals *Bone Cabal (Mystic Records, 1983) producer *Jasun Martz/Eddie Jobson/John Luttrelle "in light, in dark in between"- The American Music Compilation (Eurock, 1982) producer, composer, piano *Jasun "Won't let me go" (Neoteric Music, 1982) co-producer, composer, musician *Jasun Martz and the Neoteric Orchestra "The Pillory" (Neoteric Music, 1981) producer, composer, musician *The Far East Family Band "Live at the Troubadour" (RCA Victor Japan, 1979) keyboards, vocals, percussion *Jasun Martz and the Neoteric Orchestra "The Pillory" (All Ears/ PBR International, 1978) producer, composer, musician *Frank Zappa "Live in New York" (1977) synthesizer programmer, percussion & vocal overdubs *American Zoo "Back street thoughts/What am I?"(Rena Records, 1968) drums, vocals *American Zoo "Back street thoughts/What am I?"(Rena Records, 1968) drums, vocals *American Zoo "Magdalena/Mr. Brotherhood?"(Rena Records, 1968) drums, vocals *We the People "Who Am I?/Back Street Thoughts"(Rena Records, 1968) drums, vocals *We the People "Feelings of my Emptiness/For no one to see"(Rena Records, 1967) drums, vocals

Books

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martz, Jasun Living people 1953 births Songwriters from New York (state) Record producers from New York (state) Sculptors from New York (state) University of California, Santa Barbara alumni American contemporary classical composers