84 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023
A
fter a distinguished 30-year
journalism career as “Martin F.
Kohn,” the former Detroit Free
Press feature writer, editor and film critic
has embraced a satisfying new identity. Just
call him Marty the Musician.
Playing acoustic guitar and singing,
Marty performs around town as a solo act
or duo with his wife, Laura Kohn. After
releasing four solo CDs and one with
Laura, a highlight for Marty in his second
act will be the launch on Sunday, Sept. 17,
of his first extended play (EP) record, New
Year’s Eve Waltz. He will perform songs from
the EP as well as others in his repertoire
at Berkley Coffee & Oak Park Dry in Oak
Park. (See box.)
Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Marty
grew up listening to all kinds of music on
the radio. The genres he liked included
rock ’n’ roll, jazz, rhythm and blues,
“ethnic music — Yiddish, Irish and
Chinese — from various FM stations,”
and the Metropolitan Opera on Saturdays.
He also enjoyed original Broadway cast
albums, an interest encouraged by his non-
musician parents, Philip and Bertha Kohn,
who took their only child to see popular
shows. He said The Music Man and My Fair
Lady stand out for him.
Marty picked up the guitar on his 16th
birthday — “seven or eight years after I
asked for and received a different birthday
present: permission to quit piano lessons.”
His first musical love was bluegrass.
He enjoyed such artists as Pete Seeger,
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Tom Paxton,
Jim Kweskin and Mississippi John Hurt.
Like others of his Boomer generation, he
also was influenced by the music of Joni
Mitchell and Bob Dylan.
These days, Marty “concentrates on
playing ragtime guitar and writing my own
songs.”
His lyrics have been published in
American Songwriter and Light Poetry
magazines. In 2021, he won third prize
in the inaugural Detroit’s Big Shot Talent
Competition held at
Planet Ant in Hamtramck. As a journalist,
Marty’s articles and reviews have appeared
in publications that include Entertainment
Weekly, Parents Magazine, American Theatre,
Humanities and National Geographic.
Marty’s higher education in New York
included earning a bachelor’s degree
at Brooklyn College and a master’s in
journalism at Syracuse University. He left
his position at the Providence (R.I.) Journal
to take a feature-writing position at the
Detroit Free Press (affectionately called
the Freep) in July 1977. Marty gained a
following for his regular “Family Fare”
column, writing with warmth and humor
about the outings he took with his children.
The girls got to be known, too. The Freep
compiled Marty’s columns into two books,
Family Fare and Family Fare 2: A Guide to Fun
In and Around Michigan.
Their parents exposed the Kohn kids
ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC
Marty Kohn will launch his first EP
Sept. 17 at Berkley Coffee.
Marty the Musician
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Details
MARTY KOHN’S EP LAUNCH
3-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17
Berkley Coffee & Oak Park Dry
14661 W. 11 Mile Road, Oak Park
(248) 565-8114
berkleycoffee.com
Admission by donation
Marty Kohn
on the
guitar
PHOTOS BY MARK FRANKEL