This week in Texas music history: Martin Banks records with Archie Shepp

On April 26, 1967, Austin-born trumpeter Martin Banks appeared on Archie Shepp’s LP The Magic of Ju-Ju, recorded for Impulse! records.

It was the first of two recording dates for Banks with the legendary saxophonist and composer Archie Shepp, one of the most prolific and uncompromising figures in jazz and improvised music. The Magic of Ju-Ju relies on a percussion-heavy ensemble along with Banks and company rendering intricate arrangements in support of Shepp’s lengthy solos.

Martin Banks attended Anderson High School in Austin and honed his skills in regional bands before embarking for California (San Francisco, then Los Angeles) where he made his first recordings in 1961 with saxophonist Dexter Gordon.

Banks toured with the Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton bands. He tried his hand at Broadway, playing in the band for the countercultural hit Hair, and in Hollywood film, working on the music for 1971’s Cotton Comes to Harlem featuring Redd Foxx and Teddy Wilson.

In a genre-hopping career, he toured with Ray Charles and appeared on Brother Ray’s landmark LP Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music that staked a claim for the Black presence in and influence on country music.

Over the span of his career, Banks also worked with fellow Texans King Curtis, Freddie King, and Dr. James Polk.

In 1988, he moved back home to Austin and became a stalwart of the local jazz scene, performing frequently at the Elephant Room downtown and appearing at the fabled Liberty Lunch with another free jazz giant, Sun Ra.

Banks passed unexpectedly in 2004, his legacy in Texas jazz secure.

Sources

Dave Oliphant in Laurie E. Jasinski, Gary Hartman, Casey Monahan, and Ann T. Smith, eds. The Handbook of Texas Music. Second Edition. Denton, TX: Texas State Historical Association, 2012.

“Martin Banks,” Texas Music Museum, accessed January 5, 2026, https://www.texasmusicmuseum.org/current-exhibits/the-contributions-of-east-austin-african-american-musicians-to-texas-music/jazz-music-from-austins-east-side/martin-banks/

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