James Martin is a tenor saxophonist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader from New Orleans. While at NOCCA he became a founding member of Trombone Shorty's Orleans Avenue alongside Jon Batiste; he later earned a scholarship to Loyola, where he studied jazz saxophone and the music industries program.
He began his solo career in 2008 with Happy Jack Frequency and has worked with Glen David Andrews and the Soul Brass Band. His album Keep Movin' debuted at No. 9 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart, and his 2024 release From Here. features Ivan Neville, Roger Lewis, Erica Falls, and Shamarr Allen.
Martin calls his contemporary-pop-inspired sound funky, danceable, and melodic — he has been known to pull out Nirvana and Christina Aguilera songs in a jazz set and still keep the room dancing. He also teaches incarcerated youth through the Preservation Hall Foundation.
