Before becoming part of Medeski, Martin & Wood, Martin was part of the New York City Brazilian scene in the 1980s. He performed regularly with Pe De Boi, Batucada and several
Bob Moses bands for over a decade. He also joined
Chuck Mangione's touring group for three years. Most notably he has developed as a percussionist for
The Lounge Lizards and with the
John Lurie National Orchestra, and has collaborated with artists such as
John Zorn,
DJ Logic,
Dave Burrell and
Miho Hatori. He has also started his own record label,
Amulet Records, specializing in eclectic percussion albums. Martin has also collaborated with
Iggy Pop,
Eyvind Kang,
Chris Whitley,
DJ Olive,
Ikue Mori,
John Scofield,
Maceo Parker,
Calvin Weston,
Marty Ehrlich, and
Min Xiao-Fen. Martin also sometimes goes by the moniker
Illy B. The most notable releases as Illy B include the
Illy B Eats series of
breakbeat records.
DJ Logic convinced Martin to record a breakbeat album for DJs and other producers to use and remix. At the last minute, Martin decided to place an insert which invited remixers to submit their mixes for a follow-up compilation,
Drop the Needle. Along with his percussion work, Martin is a visual artist. He does printmaking, painting, pencil drawings, and pastel drawings, among other mediums. His work has been displayed in several galleries and is also on the packaging of many Medeski Martin & Wood albums, most notably the cover of
Shack-man. 2006 was a prolific year for Martin; he created new chamber compositions for John Zorn's
Tzadik label, he released
Out Louder on MMW's new label Indirecto, he produced many new artworks, and published a drum book entitled
Riddim: Clave of African Origin. ==on DVD==