Martin Banks was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player, renowned for his contributions to the genre throughout his career. Born on June 23, 1936, in Austin, Texas, he passed away in the same city on August 20, 2004.

Raised in a musical family, Banks was the son of Rose and Martin Buford Banks, Sr. His father, Buford, was an accomplished trombonist who performed with various bands, including Chicago’s King Kolax Orchestra, which featured the legendary tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. Although Martin initially played trombone, he switched to trumpet in the sixth grade due to the limitations of his arm length. He grew up in East Austin, attending L. L. Campbell Elementary School and Anderson High School before relocating to San Francisco in 1953 to live with an uncle. There, he completed his high school education and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from City College of San Francisco.

Banks moved to Los Angeles, where he became part of the vibrant local music scene. His recording debut occurred in 1961 alongside saxophonist Dexter Gordon on the album The Resurgence of Dexter Gordon. While he did not release any albums under his own name, he collaborated with notable artists such as Ray Charles (on Sticks and Stones), Archie Shepp (on Magic of Ju-Ju), Harold Land (on Take Aim), Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and Freddie King (on My Feeling for the Blues). His work with Ray Charles led him to New York, where he made a name for himself as a versatile musician during the 1960s and 1970s.

In New York, Banks built an impressive résumé, performing with the bands of jazz icons like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Dizzy Gillespie, as well as with pop legends such as James Brown and B.B. King. He was also part of the house band at the Apollo Theater and worked with Motown Records. Banks collaborated with Texas tenor saxophonists Booker Ervin and David “Fathead” Newman, the latter of whom he supported on the 1967 album Booker ‘n’ Brass. His musical versatility extended to Broadway, where he played in the production of Hair, and he spent several years in the 1970s as a member of the house band at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

In 1988, Banks returned to Austin, where he became an active participant in the local jazz scene. He frequently performed at the Elephant Room and taught music in local elementary schools. Collaborating with musicians like James Polk, Alex Coke, Tina Marsh, and Ephraim Owens, he contributed to groups such as JAMAD, Countenance, the Creative Opportunity Orchestra, and the Texas Trumpets. While he was not often featured as a soloist earlier in his career, he took on that role in later years, contributing a notable muted solo to Tina Marsh’s Creative Opportunity Orchestra and Slim Richey’s Dream Band on their 2000 album Live and Unrehearsed, where he played Erroll Garner’s “Misty.”

Honored for his contributions to jazz, Banks was recognized on February 26, 1998, when Austin Mayor Kirk Watson declared that day as “Larry D. C. Williams and Martin Banks Day,” alongside fellow jazz saxophonist Larry D. C. Williams. He was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame, and in 2005, a pavilion in Austin’s Givens Park was named in his honor. Martin Banks's legacy continues to resonate within the Austin music community, and he was posthumously inducted into the Austin Music Memorial in 2010.