After graduating from high school, Martin taught at Lynwood High; he was later hired by the Los Angeles Unified School District for his musical expertise.  He went on to teach music at Hamilton High and other South Los Angeles schools, always believing that music – and gospel in particular – could be a key to rescuing city kids from the perils that encircled them.  It was in this role that Browne refers to his work as a precious surviving “bridge” of the social landscape.  In 2002 Martin founded the Urban Entertainment Institute a nonprofit designed to teach students music, dance and multiple aspects of the music business.

“These were kids hanging out on the streets because they had nowhere to go, nothing to do,” Martin says of his young charges, “and those are the kids who end up getting shot and killed.  The kids in the program are not hanging out, and in helping them develop these skills, we’re saving their lives.  We’re giving them a purpose and building up their self-esteem and self-respect.  We’re exposing them to a world they didn’t know exists.”

His various choirs performed with superstars like Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight, at events such as the Independent Spirit Awards and Oscar after parties, in the film Under Siege II, on the series Mad TV and elsewhere.  Martin’s group dominated the House of Blues’ celebrated gospel brunch for four years straight.  Graduates of his program are regularly approached to sing with, play for, produce or otherwise assist top industry acts.
The institute has grown to national recognition and Martin plans to duplicate its success across the country.

Martin’s comprehensive instruction includes everything from music theory to the historical evolution of African-American song.  And it’s clear from Some Bridges that these lessons have not been lost on his pupils.  Indeed, the album frequently brings divergent musical traditions together.  On “World in Motion,” for example, the Levite choir offers a bit of Allen Toussaint’s, “Yes We Can Can” (popularized in the ’70s by the Pointer Sisters) as a stirring culmination to Browne’s call for social justice.  Elsewhere, jazz runs intertwine with funk shuffles, and delicate flute filigrees dance around scorching rock guitar.

But it’s Martin’s take on “Crossroads”—Robert Johnson’s seminal blues song, best known as a hit by Cream—that truly showcases his barrier-smashing ambition.  Beginning with the slinky bottleneck guitar of Keb’ Mo’, the track switches masterfully between Robert Johnson’s signature 12-bar blues and the spiritual “Until I Found the Lord,” escalating in intensity atop a roiling, organ-spiced groove until Johnson’s fateful meeting with Satan turns into a delirious revival meeting.  “What we’re saying is when we get to the crossroad, rather than choosing the Devil, we’re going to fall to our knees and ask the Lord for the right direction,” Martin declares.  “I’m going to pray and I’m going to cry and I’m going to moan until I find the right way to go.”

He adds that Thomas Dorsey, hailed as the father of gospel music, first brought the sounds of jazz and blues into the church – and ruffled some feathers in the process.  “What’s ironic,” he points out, “is that his music is now considered traditional gospel, but church people absolutely wouldn’t accept it back then.” 

But Martin is far less concerned with what people in the church will accept than what the community can accomplish.  “God gave me the gift to work with young people and inspire kids to change their lives,” he reflects.  “The greatest reward is having a former student walk back through the doors of the classroom with a degree, a good job and success in their lives, the kind of success that money can't buy.”

With the ever-evolving Levite Camp, as with his other efforts, Martin continues to serve as the kind of bridge celebrated in Jackson Browne’s song – not only “still around,” but standing firm and always ready to point the way to a better destination. 

The Levite Camp: Singers Chavonne Morris and Alethea Mills, co-lead vocalists; singers Loren Turner, Creshinda Johnson, De'Ante Duckett and Nava Dennis and musicians Sheven Morris, Luke Bucket, David Brimer, Kevin Moore Jr. and Robert Lewis