Wayne Kozak & Martin Springett - 2026 - Friendship

(63:32; Melodic Revolution Records)

I have been racking my brain, but I don’t think I have ever come across an album quite like this one. Ian Anderson famously wrote some songs about his old friend, bandmate and artist Jeffrey Hammond (“A Song for Jeffrey”, “Jeffrey Goes to Leicester Square” and  “For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me”) prior to him gaining an extra Hammond and joining Jethro Tull, but this album is different as Martin has brought together a compilation to celebrate more than five decades of friendship with Wayne Kozak who sadly passed away earlier this year. An accomplished saxophonist, he recorded with Martin many times over the years, while he is renowned by Canadians for being the tenor sax man for the legendary Powder Blues Band, as well as a sought-after session musician and performer who worked with the likes of Tina Turner, Tom Jones, Bryan Adams, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Loverboy, and Randy Bachman.   

This compilation includes rare/unreleased tracks but is mostly taken from Martin’s solo albums and those by The Gardening Club, all (apart from the last) featuring the sounds which made Wayne so highly regarded. Apparently, the idea behind this compilation started a few years ago when Martin suggested to Wayne that they release an album to celebrate their ongoing friendship, while now it is a celebration of what they achieved together. It goes back all the way to 1970 with “Only Son”, where Martin composed the music to a poem written by Kipling, and even though Martin does not appear on this track it was the one which set him on the path to being a musician. We get a few songs on here from Martin’s 2015 solo album ‘Diving Into Small Pools’, which has never truly gained the recognition it deserves and the wailing sax on “Warm Blood” is what really makes that song come alive.

The songs from The Gardening Club will of course be the most well known to many, and “Strange Kingdom” from ‘Bridge of Spirits’ has long been a favourite and again shows the incredibly close relationship between Martin and Wayne as it the sax which is integral to the song. The very final song is “Friendship (For Wayne”) with just Martin in the studio, providing multi-tracked guitars and vocals as he says goodbye, and I can only imagine just how emotional it was for him to record this and it is simply beautiful.

The album is a wonderful homage to his friend and their friendship, and he has even put Wayne’s name first on this release, to show just how much he meant to him. This means it is not necessarily the best collection of Martin’s songs but is instead designed to celebrate what they created together. However, it clearly demonstrates what a major talent Martin is and that fans of the likes of Camel, Roy Harper or Anthony Phillips would find much on here to enjoy. I only hope that people will discover this compilation and use it to not only investigate the very long-term musical friendship and relationship between the two, but also as a way of discovering more of Martin’s catalogue.  Oh, and as a nice final touch, this is the only album of Martin’s which does not feature his own artwork, as the cover is by Wayne. 

Kev Rowland, July 2026

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100041018869969
https://mrrmusic.com/