Martin led his own band while he was in high school, then played in various local bands. After working on a ships band, Martin joined the Mason-Dixon band, then joined Arnold Johnson and Jack Albin. Later, his band filled in for Lombardo. But the band broke up and he did not form a permanent band until 1931 at the Bossert Hotel in Brooklyn. Martin took his band into many prestigious hotels. A fixture on radio, his sponsored shows included NBC's Maybelline Penthouse Serenade of 1937. But Martin's real success came in 1941 with an arrangement from the first movement of Tchaikovsky's B-flat piano concerto. Martin always led a sweet styled band. He also had a good ear for singers. In the 1950s and 1960s, In the early 1970s, he was part of two long TV series. Martin died in 1983. This lovely record was cut in 1935, with a vocal by Elmer Feldkamp.