Sean Martin, a multiple Grammy Award winner best known as the keyboardist for the jazz-fusion group Snarky Puppy and a three-decade collaborator with gospel star Kirk Franklin, died Saturday at the age of 45.
Martin has been under constant medical supervision since suffering a massive stroke in April 2023. In November, Franklin posted a tribute hoping for Martin's recovery in the face of adversity, saying the musician was still “fighting for his life” and describing him at the time as “my right hand, my North Star, and my musical partner for over 25 years.”
Martin was also known for helping write and produce Erykah Badu's second album, “Mama's Gun,” as well as being a member of Chaka Khan's backing band, not to mention his role as a music minister at one of Texas' largest churches.
Badu was one of a number of artists recently announced to perform at a benefit concert for Martin in Dallas on September 14, alongside Robert Glasper, Norah Jones and others.
Martin won four Grammy Awards for his work with Franklin, in the categories of Best Gospel Album and Contemporary Gospel R&B Album. Other online sources put his total Grammy Awards at seven, including three won by Snarky Puppy while he was a member.
Martin was particularly popular in his home area. Dallas-based WFAA described him as “among the most famous musicians Dallas has ever produced.”
“I am saddened to share the news of the passing of my husband, Harold LaShawn Martin,” read a message to Martin’s followers from his wife, Monica Wilson Martin, on Sunday. “The light in our family has been dimmed since April 17, 2023. Since then, it has been our priority to surround him with love, support, prayers, and the best medical care that can be provided. At this time, God has spoken, and we must accept His will. Thank you to our family and friends who continue to surround us with unwavering love. We kindly ask for your prayers as we deal with this painful loss that is being felt in our home, throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and ultimately around the world.”
Martin served as minister of worship, music and band leader for Sunday services at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Oak Cliff, one of the largest churches in the country, when he was not out on tour.
Martin was still a student at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Texas when he joined the great singer Franklin as a member of the group God's Property.
“Badu and many of her musicians grew up with Martin in school,” Martin recalled in an interview with Forbes. “When I started working with Erykah, she had already released ‘Baduizm.’ Braylon Lacey, Eugene Young, and Rafael Iglehart and I joined the band at the same time. It was great because I was still in college, going back and forth to school and recording sessions. Erykah Badu was and always will be, especially in my eyes, a superstar. She always had that thing about her. But at the same time, she was probably one of the most amazing, humble people I’ve ever met. So the sessions were a trade-off for me because I knew the superstar, but I was getting to know the real person, Erykah Wright.”
“Then after a year or so,” he continued, “[the single] “Bag Lady” came out. From a music industry standpoint, it was a journey, because I was 20 years old and I had never had the opportunity to be part of something that big on that side of the spectrum. Now, “God’s Property” was a huge hit, especially in the gospel world. It went on to sell two or three million records. I was part of the group, but I was just a sideman. But with the Erykah album, I got to write and produce, so the business changed. It taught me a lot.
His interests spanned many musical genres, as he was also the founder of the Go-Go Band, expressing his love for the Washington, D.C., Go-Go music scene.
He’s found commonalities between some of the different artists he’s played with. “What’s funny with Kirk Franklin, Erykah Badu, and Chaka is that the audience is actually the same,” he told Forbes. “What I mean by that is, a lot of people who like gospel music also listen to Chaka and Erica. So that part is cool. It makes everything relatable. But there’s a difference in the outcome, if you will. With Chaka, it’s all about having a good time. Erica always wants to make you feel empowered, that’s her thing. Again, she’s a total arts magnet.” [school] The idea: “Go, be, do.” Go wherever you want, be whatever you want to be, do whatever you want to do. While Kirk’s goal is and always will be Jesus. It ends up being power in a spiritual way, in that Christian way. These three outcomes are differences, but the essence is the same.”
His solo albums include Focus and 7 Summers, and he participated in the trio project Three-O with Matthew Ramsey and Mike “Black Dynamite” Mitchell.
“One of the things I still want to do is I want to be able to help grow the Dallas music scene on a global scale,” he told Forbes. “There are so many talented people in Dallas, Texas. A lot of times, because we’re from Dallas, we get overlooked. But there are so many amazing people.”
“Yesterday, we lost a musical legend, and more importantly, a beautiful, radiant human being,” the band Snarky Puppy posted on Instagram. “Sean Martin touched so many people during his lifetime, and through the beautiful immortality of music, he will continue to do so. There is so much to say but words cannot do it justice. Rest in peace.”
Fans chimed in in the comments, with notes like, “Sean’s key solo on Thing of Gold saved my life; I think it’s the most important solo in jazz history,” and “That organ solo is literally the whole reason I started learning piano.”
