Terrace Martin
Saxophone / Alto Saxophone

Terrace Martin

(1978–)

Terrace Martin (b. 1978) — Saxophone, Alto Saxophone. Led Gray Area, Velvet Portraits. Worked with Robert Glasper, Keyon Harrold, Thundercat.

Martin plays saxophone and keys and works as a producer. He was a central architect of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly. He dissolves the borders between jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and funk, and sits at the hub of the LA jazz scene — everyone connects through him.

Terrace Martin's albums

The Epic
The Epic
Kamasi Washington · 2015

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) was built on jazz musicians: Robert GlasperRobert GlasperRobert Glasperロバート・グラスパー, Terrace MartinTerrace MartinTerrace Martinテラス・マーティン, Kamasi WashingtonKamasi WashingtonKamasi Washingtonカマシ・ワシントン, and ThundercatThundercatThundercatサンダーキャット. Glasper was supposed to play on one track, but Kendrick kept queuing up songs — he ended up recording nine in a single sitting with no sheet music. The piano solo on "These Walls" was actually his warmup, secretly recorded by Terrace Martin.

— Robert Glasper on Playing Jazz Piano on To Pimp a Butterfly, Slate, 2015

Terrace Martin's albums

Singer-songwriter Yu SakaiSakai YuSakai Yuさかいゆう became the first Japanese singer-songwriter to appear on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert (April 2025), performing with TBN Trio featuring Nate SmithNate SmithNate Smithネイト・スミス (drums) and Ben WilliamsBen WilliamsBen Williamsベン・ウィリアムズ (bass). It happened because Smith invited the NPR crew to their Shibuya show. Sakai has also recorded with John ScofieldJohn ScofieldJohn Scofieldジョン・スコフィールド, Terrace MartinTerrace MartinTerrace Martinテラス・マーティン, and Nicholas PaytonNicholas PaytonNicholas Paytonニコラス・ペイトン across previous albums — a rare J-pop artist woven into both the LA and NYC jazz scenes.

— Yu Sakai feat. TBN Trio: Tiny Desk Concert