Martin Fierro

A longtime fixture from the Bay Area rock and roll and jazz picture, tenor saxophonist Martin Fierro used acts spanning from Quicksilver Messenger Program to Merl Saunders, but remains most widely known for his cooperation using the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia within the short-lived Legion of Mary. Given birth to January 18, 1942, in Mexico and elevated in Un Paso, TX, Fierro was a self-taught saxophonist who started playing with regional rock and roll rings while still in his teenagers. In 1964 he embraced jazz, touring Mexico as an associate from the Maxnava Jazz Four, and four years later on settled in SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, where he became a member of the Tracy Nelson-led psychedelic blues clothing Mother Earth with time to slice the LP Coping with the Pets. Also in 1968 Fierro initiated an extended cooperation using the Sir Douglas Quintet that yielded classics including “Mendocino,” and in the years to check out he solidified his standing up like a first-call program contributor, playing on LPs for Quicksilver, Blue Cheer, and Wayne Natural cotton. He also considered composing, rating Alejandro Jodorowsky’s cult traditional Un Topo in 1970. Fierro’s cooperation with Garcia commenced via 1971’s Hooteroll?, co-headlined by Howard Wales, and in 1973 he made an appearance around the Dead’s Wake from the Overflow. In July 1974, he became a member of Garcia in Legion of Mary, an improvisational blues-funk task that also presented keyboardist Saunders, bassist John Kahn, and drummer Ron Tutt. Legion of Mary’s life-span proved brief, in support of three decades later on did Rhino Information compile their live shows for the official launch, issuing the two-disc arranged The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol 1: Legion of Mary in August 2005. Fierro founded the jam music group No in 1988, liberating some albums including Right here Moves Nothin’ and Nothin’ Moves Right here — he also collaborated with some next-generation jam rings like the String Mozzarella cheese Incident as well as the Dark Superstar Orchestra. Fierro passed away March 13, 2008, carrying out a brief struggle with cancers; he was 66 yrs . old.