A longtime fixture of the Bay Area rock and jazz scene, tenor saxophonist Martin Fierro played with acts spanning from Quicksilver Messenger Service to Merl Saunders, but remains best known for his collaboration with the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia in the short-lived Legion of Mary. Born January 18, 1942, in Mexico and raised in El Paso, TX, Fierro was a self-taught saxophonist who began playing with local rock bands while still in his teens. In 1964 he embraced jazz, touring Mexico as a member of the Maxnava Jazz Four, and four years later settled in San Francisco, where he joined the Tracy Nelson-led psychedelic blues outfit Mother Earth in time to cut the LP Living with the Animals. Also in 1968 Fierro initiated a lengthy collaboration with the Sir Douglas Quintet that yielded classics including Mendocino, and in the years to follow he solidified his standing as a first-call session contributor, playing on LPs for Quicksilver, Blue Cheer, and James Cotton. He also turned to composing, scoring Alejandro Jodorowsky's cult classic #El Topo in 1970.

Fierro's collaboration with Garcia commenced via 1971's Hooteroll?, co-headlined by Howard Wales, and in 1973 he appeared on the Dead's Wake of the Flood. In July 1974, he joined Garcia in Legion of Mary, an improvisational blues-funk project that also featured keyboardist Saunders, bassist John Kahn, and drummer Ron Tutt. Legion of Mary's lifespan proved brief, and only three decades later did Rhino Records compile their live performances for an official release, issuing the two-disc set The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol 1: Legion of Mary in August 2005. Fierro founded the jam band Zero in 1988, releasing a series of albums including Here Goes Nothin' and Nothin' Goes Here -- he also collaborated with a series of next-generation jam bands including the String Cheese Incident and the Dark Star Orchestra. Fierro died March 13, 2008, following a brief battle with cancer; he was 66 years old. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi