February 2023

Linley Marthe is a bassist living in Paris (originally from Mauritius) with whom I first became aware of because of his work with the Zawinul Syndicate. Joe Zawinul is widely known for having the baddest cats in the land and is responsible for the discovery of some of the worlds best bassists (in a global sense).

After Jaco, Richard Bona, Etienne Mbappe, Matt Garrison and a host of others…. it’s hard to imagine someone bringing something that new and exciting to the table but, then again…. every member of his bands always did, so I made sure to check Linley out when I first got wind of him. Sheesh!

He has the kind of freedom and playfulness in his playing that I could only ever aspire to and he has been one of the prominent players in the Parisian scene for quite some time. He’s no one-trick pony, either. Linley is one of Europe’s most sought after sidemen for a reason. He’s versatile and just completely out of this world whether playing in front or driving from the back. Definitely worth checking out!

Btw, this may only be rumor but, from what I understand, the Jazz bass that he typically plays is the same bass that he bought when he left Mauritius for France to pursue his career as a musician. It was apparently the rental bass on offer from the local music store. Again, this may only be an urban legend but it’s a neat story!