Guitarist Ross Martin has performed in concert halls, honky-tonks, theaters, rock clubs, living rooms, on festival stages, television programs and everywhere in between. He grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, TX, with brief stints in East Tennessee, attended the University of North Texas, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies, then headed west. After ten years in the front range area of Colorado, he relocated to the east coast and has lived in New York City since 2006.
His musical path has covered as much territory as his physical one. Reflecting his love of diverse genres like jazz, bluegrass, country, folk, experimental, and classical music, Ross has always felt at home with fellow musicians who seek to reconcile, through their music, the incredible wealth of styles available to listeners in this global and digital age. He has toured and performed with a wide range of artists including Matt Flinner, Tony Furtado, Grant Gordy, Jacob Jolliff, Ron Miles, Mollie O’Brien, The Motet, and many others.
Ross, along with bassist Eric Thorin, has been a member of the Matt Flinner Trio for over 15 years. Known in acoustic circles for his groundbreaking mandolin work, Matt developed a unique concept for the group: All three band members write a tune each day while on tour and perform it that evening. After several tours, they picked twelve of their favorite tunes and recorded them. The result was “Music du Jour” which was released on Compass Records in April, 2009. Since then, the Trio has produced two more recordings of Music du Jour compositions: “Winter Harvest” (2012) and “Traveling Roots” (2016).
Ross has two albums under his own name: “Volley” and “Sylvan Tunnel”. Both recordings feature his original compositions and electric guitar playing along with contributions from Darol Anger, Matt Flinner, Ron Miles, Dominic Lalli, Greg Garrison and others. He and guitarist Grant Gordy (David Grisman Quintet, Mr. Sun) released their duo album, “Year of the Dog” in 2016 and have recently begun work on a follow-up recording.
Music education plays an important role in Ross’s professional life. He maintains a private guitar studio, is a sought-after instructor at workshops and music camps such as Rockygrass Academy, Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp, Sorefingers Summer School (UK), Montana Fiddle Camp, Great Lakes Music Camp, and regularly facilitates clinics and teaches master classes at educational institutions across the United States.
Ross performs frequently throughout the New York City area, and tours nationally and internationally with various projects.