Marty Grosz

“A giant of jazz rhythm guitar, Marty Grosz is equal parts showman, jazz scholar and raconteur. A virtuoso in a playing style that’s both timeless and so far off the radar it’s all but lost.”
—Riverwalk Jazz

Marty Grosz is today’s foremost jazz rhythm guitarist and chord soloist.

The son of celebrated German expressionist George Grosz, Marty was born in Berlin in 1930 and came to the United States at age three. He is considered among the best acoustic jazz guitarists of the twentieth century.

Marty has performed with a staggering number of jazz greats, including Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Charlie Byrd, Ruby Braff, Dick Hyman, Milt Hinton, Leroy “Slam” Stewart, Bob Haggart, George Duvivier, Bob Wilber, and Kenny Davern. His lengthy discography ranges from a 1951 recording with veteran New Orleans’ bassist “Pops” Foster to his 2015 CD with The Fat Babies.

With a consistent sound rooted in the tradition of jazz masters of 1920s and ’30s, Marty champions the cause of the acoustic guitar. In performance, he plays driving rhythm and chord-style solos on an unamplified Gibson L-5 archtop guitar.

Marty’s monologues, served with sardonic wit and a touch of vaudeville, have marked him as one of jazz music’s great comedians. He is also a fine jazz singer, always delivering with perfect jazz phrasing.

Eddie Condon, Fats Waller, and Louis Armstrong are some of Marty’s heroes. Following a young man’s dream, he hitchhiked to Chicago from New York City in the 1950s and became a prominent figure of Chicago’s jazz club scene for several decades. He toured extensively with the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra under the direction of Dick Hyman. Grosz’s acoustic guitar and “Fats Waller” style of singing were featured heavily in groups such as Bob Wilber’s Soprano Summit, The Classic Jazz Quartet, and the Orphan Newsboys. Having recorded scores of albums both as sideman and leader, Marty’s lengthy discography ranges from a 1951 recording with veteran New Orleans’ bassist “Pops” Foster to his 2015 CD with The Fat Babies.

Marty has played everywhere from the White House to Carnegie Hall and has been a featured guest on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, NBC’s Today Show, and New York City’s 92nd Street Y. He lives and works in Philadelphia.

Part autobiography, part oral history, It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie is the story of Marty Grosz’s life in jazz, told in his own candid and entertaining style.

Seeing a Grosz performance is to experience a superb rhythm guitarist, and engaging singer, a man with a whimsical sense of humor and the ability to tell a story with the best of them. The latter two aspects of his strengths are evident throughout It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie: My Life in Jazz…this book provides just the kind of entertaining reading that you would expect from Marty Grosz…you will find it hard to set it down.” – Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz