Born in Brussels, Belgium in 1973, Zeke Martin entered the world with a pair of drumsticks in his hands. As a child, he had a strong appreciation for diverse musical styles such as Jazz, Funk, Reggae and Rock, and was heavily influenced by his father, the late Stu Martin, who played with Jazz royalty including Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Charles Mingus, Dave Holland and Quincy Jones to name a few.
At the age of 12, Zeke made his musical debut with Steve Lacy, in France. He later moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and attended Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School. Here, he further developed his drumming technique in the Jazz & Percussion Ensembles, Band, and other musical outlets. He received the Pasquale and Mary Reale Music Award and performed the percussion solo at the CRLS Graduation.
Zeke joined a rock band called "Small Town No Airport" at 16, and performed in Boston, Maine and New Hampshire rock clubs. They recorded a CD called "Small Town No Airport" which was sold at Tower Records and HMV in Boston.
In 1994, Zeke moved to New York City and performed at various venues in Manhattan and Staten Island. He later joined a world music group led by Jeremy Lodeon, which recorded a CD called "In Between Two Worlds".
Two years later, Zeke moved back to Boston and started working with The Ed Jones Quartet. After the release for their first CD, the group changed members, modified their sound, and changed their name to Groove 2 This. The new group featured top Boston musicians including Antonio Jackson, Ray Archie, Aaron Spevack and Ed Jones. They performed at numerous venues in the area including The Berklee Performance Center opening for Regina Bell and Steppin Out, a black tie charity gala. They also recorded a CD named G2T, which was sold at record stores such as Nubian Notions in Boston.
In 1999, Zeke started playing weekly with The Ray Brown Quartet at Slade's in Boston, and later began performing with some of Boston's top musicians including Andre Ward, PJ Adamson, Valerie Stevens, Frank Wilkins, Herman Johnson, Bill Lowe, Andre Hayward and many more.
Zeke eventually started his own group called The ZMQ, and recorded their first CD, LANDSCAPES, on GigCity Records in 2001, and FUNKY STUFF in 2006. The Zeke Martin Project has performed at popular Boston clubs including The Middle East, Slade's, The Piano Factory, Ryle's Jazz Club, The Sky Bar, Evo's Arts, Northeastern University, Babson College, The Kirkland Café and many more. In recent years, Zeke was reviewed in the August issue of Drum! Magazine (2002) and has also received endorsement deals with Sonor drums (2002) and Vic Firth Drum sticks (2005).
Committed to sharing his passion and love for music, Zeke also serves as a drum coach and instructor for students in the greater New England area. He recently started working as a drum instructor at Northeastern University.
