The Bill Martin Trio

Bill Martin is jazz pianist who leads his own trio (the "Bill Martin Trio") in Dunedin and regularly accompanies leading players across New Zealand, including Edwina Thorne and Geoff Culverwell. 

At the 2019 festival he will be performing with jazz singer Karin Reid, bassist Andy Lynch and drummer Carl Woodward.
Bill has performed at jazz festivals across the country, including showcase concerts at the Queenstown Jazz Festival, Harbour Street Jazz Festival and gigs at the National Jazz Festival in Tauranga.

Bill currently holds a weekly residency at Dog with Two Tails Cafe in Dunedin, continuing a long playing tradition which began with a five-year residency at the Carousel Cocktail lounge bar (2013-2018). He makes regular live recordings which can be accessed via the bands Soundcloud website. <https://soundcloud.com/bill-martin-trio>

Bill Martin is also a jazz educator in Dunedin and a leading figure on the local jazz scene. He has organised workshops and competitions for students across Dunedin. He is the Chairperson and Musical Director of the recently established Dunedin Youth Jazz Orchestra, the Musical Director of the Otago Girls' / Boys' High School Jazz Band and the organiser of the Dunedin Youth Jazz Festival (held April 6-7, 2018).

​In 2017, he released an album of original compositions titled "Dark Water", recorded with bassist Lloyd Williams and Robert Craigie. New York concert pianist John van Buskirk used the following words to describe the release: "cool, elegant and sophisticated, Dark Water combines chops, sound and soul for meditation and reveries". The album can be downloaded on iTunes, streamed on Spotify and is available for purchase in Japan as a physical CD via Tower Records.

​Bill Martin also holds a PhD in English and is a published author in this field. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Irish Studies at the University of Otago and published a book titled Joyce and the Science of Rhythm that was published by Palgrave-MacMillan in 2012.