Saxa

Lionel Augustus "Saxa" Martin (5 January 1930 – 3 May 2017) was a Jamaican saxophonist, best known for being a member of The Beat.

Early life

Lionel Augustus Martin was born at Croft's Hill, Jamaica he originally played on a homemade bamboo saxophone, but later switched to the drums. He moved to Kingston, where he played saxophone in Spanish Town under the names Ganzi and Count Moody. While in Kingston, he learned the tenor saxophone and recorded with Tommy McCook and Roland Alphonso.

Move to England

He moved to England in 1960, spending eighteen months in London and then moved to Birmingham. He split the bill with The Beatles at The Continental, a club in Soho Road, Handsworth.. Saxa also played saxophone for Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken, and Desmond Dekker.

The Beat

Martin joined The Beat in 1978 to help them record their first single, a cover of "The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, in 1980. He initially joined as a session musician, but soon became a full-time member. Saxa was a generation older than the rest of the band.

Rolling Stone described his saxophone playing on the Beat's I Just Can't Stop It album: "a rambunctious cluster of singles...

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