Johnny "Chano" Martínez was a prominent Mexican bassist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He was born in San Juan de Los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico in 1924, later he moved and lived together with his family in Chicago, United States, the country where he developed his long artistic career.

His early musical influences were Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, to name a few. In the 1950s, he began his career as an instrumentalist with the orchestras of the Mexican pianist Luis Arcaraz and the Spanish musician Xavier Cugat. Based on his talent and perseverance, Martínez achieved a respectable space in the Latin environment of the West Coast of the United States.