Daniel John Martin is a Paris-based Anglo-French jazz violinist whose career bridges the timeless elegance of the Hot Club tradition with a distinctly contemporary musical voice.
Long associated with the French « à la Django et Stéphane » tradition of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli, Martin has established himself as one of the distinctive voices of jazz violin on the Parisian scene. Yet his musical world extends far beyond the Hot Club idiom. As a composer, improviser and bandleader, he explores jazz, blues, rock and contemporary music with the same freedom and instinct for melody that define his playing.
His latest album, Pardon My French, is a deeply personal project that revisits music Martin was composing as a young man, bringing those early ideas into the present through a sophisticated fusion of jazz, rock, pop and classical textures. The album features an exceptional line-up including French jazz pianist Olivier Hutman, bassist Henri Dorina and drummer Francis Arnaud, alongside legendary American guitarist Robben Ford. Together, they create a record that reflects Martin’s eclectic musical journey while remaining unmistakably his own.
Pardon My French has attracted international attention and is currently nominated in two categories at the Mzantsi Jazz Awards in South Africa: Best International Jazz Album and Best International Jazz Artist. The nomination carries particular resonance for Martin, whose formative years were spent in Africa, including South Africa, before he moved to Paris as a teenager. His musical identity has been shaped by this unusual journey between cultures, continents and traditions.
An internationally active performer, Martin is regularly invited to appear abroad as a headlining artist and has performed across Europe, Africa, Australia and the United States. He also maintains a long-standing musical partnership with guitarist Romane, with whom he performs as co-leader in a violin-and-guitar duo exploring the rich legacy of French jazz.
For Martin, transmitting music is as important as performing it. He regularly gives masterclasses internationally and is the artistic curator and driving force behind Django à Montmartre, an international workshop dedicated to the music and spirit of the Hot Club of France. Held every May in Paris, the workshop brings together students, established musicians and leading figures of the jazz manouche world.
The project has evolved into something larger: Swing sur les Abbesses, a festival celebrating swing and acoustic jazz throughout the cafés and streets of Montmartre. What began as a workshop has thus become a meeting point between musicians, students, audiences and the living musical culture of Paris.
Rooted in tradition but never confined by it, Daniel John Martin embodies a generation of jazz musicians for whom heritage is not a destination, but a starting point.