Martha's Prize is a jazz composition by pianist Cedar Walton, first recorded on his 1996 album Composer for Astor Place Recordings, featuring an ensemble that included Christian McBride, Victor Lewis, Roy Hargrove, Vincent Herring, and Ralph Moore. The tune is widely believed to have been written for Walton's wife, Martha. It is built on an AABA structure with a distinctive bouncing intro and solo interlude played by piano and bass between two chords. The A section features a lyrical, intricate melody with characteristic harmonic motion including tritone substitutions, while the bridge introduces unusual harmonic movement through a series of minor ii-V-I progressions with the harmonic rhythm displaced by two beats. This rhythmic displacement in the bridge creates a particular challenge for improvisers, as the shifted chord changes interrupt the natural melodic flow and demand careful navigation. The composition exemplifies Walton's mature hard-bop style, combining bebop vocabulary, blues feeling, and sophisticated harmonic thinking. Though not as widely performed as some of Walton's better-known tunes, Martha's Prize has attracted attention from other artists, notably pianist David Hazeltine on his 2014 tribute album I Remember Cedar and the Ben Markley Big Band in a published arrangement. Walton himself revisited the tune on his final studio album, The Bouncer, in 2011, rendering it in a trio setting with a leisurely groove.
