Cliff Martinez

Cliff Martinez is one of those people whose career arc I genuinely admire. He started as a drummer, and not for just anyone, he played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, before reinventing himself entirely as a film composer. That pivot from rock rhythm section to atmospheric film scoring is rare, and it clearly worked, given his two Robert Awards for Best Score in 2014 and 2017. Born in New York in 1954, he strikes me as a craftsman who follows the sound rather than the spotlight. I always trust musicians who can completely reinvent what they do mid-career.

Cliff Robert Martinez (born February 5, 1954) is an American musician and composer. Early in his career, Martinez was known as a drummer notably with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Name (English)

Cliff Martinez

Name (Japanese)

クリフ・マルティネス

Reading

くりふ・まるてぃねす

Born

February 5, 1954 (age 72)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aquarius / Horse

Origin

New York City, New York, United States

Blood type

Private

Height

Private

Agency

Private

Occupation

composer / drummer / film score composer / musician

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Private

University

Private

Awards & achievements

• 2014 Robert Award for Best Score
• 2017 Robert Award for Best Score

Spouse

Private

Children

Private

Parents

Private

Siblings

Private

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://cliff-martinez.com
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%83%95%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AB%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%8D%E3%82%B9

Tags

• New York
• composer
• drummer
• film score composer

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.