The Many Facets of Bassist Martin Wind on his latest: " Light Blue"

Martin Wind Light Blue  Laika Records

Martin Wind is a classically trained bassist with impeccable tone and a polished arco technique. Consequently he has become an  in-demand sideman and sought after musical collaborator. His credits include his duo work with  guitar great Philip Catherine and current collaborations with fellow German and long time friend, guitarist Ulf Meyer. He is a member of the trios of vocalists Dena DeRosa and Anne Hampton Callaway; a member of the trios of pianists Bill Cunliffe, Ted Rosenthal, and Bill Mays  and a member of drummer Matt Wilson’s Arts and  Crafts Group. Wind has been a first-call session musician whose work can be heard on several films and if that wasn't enough he is educator on the faculty of both NYU and Hofstra Universities.

With all that work as a sideman, educator and collaborator, its hard to imagine him finding the time to both compose and lead his own group, but that’s exactly what this industrious bassist has done. His last album was an ambitious undertaking that re-imagined the work of Bill Evans. Titled Bring Out the Stars, the album featured Wind’s own quartet in concert with the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana and was a joyous feast of sound.

On Wind’s latest release LightBlue, the bassist is joined by a stellar cast musicians including the clarinetist Anat Cohen, the multi-reed artist Scott Robinson, the trumpeter Ingrid Jensen,  the pianists Bill Cunliffe and Gary Versace, the vocalist Maucha Adnet and the drummers Matt Wilson and Duduka Fonseca. 

LightBlue is a revealing look into the versatility of this accomplished bassist and in the compositional inventiveness department it is anything but light. We are treated to ten original Wind compositions that show just how far he has come since his days of  studying composition and performance with such luminaries as Mike Richmond, Jim McNeely, Kenny Werner and Mike Holober.

The record is divided into two groups, the first half of the album, the more adventurous and daring of the two, utilizes keyboard artist Gary Versace, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, Scott Robinson on tenor, alto, taragota (A Hungarian instrument similar to a soprano saxophone but made of wood)  and bass saxophones, and drummer Matt Wilson, with clarinetist Cohen playing on just one cut. The second half of the album features Wind's more  Brazilian influenced, lyrical side. This lineup included clarinetist Cohen, Robinson on tenor, alto, bass saxophone and clarinet, pianist Bill Cunliffe, drummer Duduka Fonseca and the vocalist Maucha Adnet. Each side has its own distinct merits. 

The range of diversity in these compositions is quite impressive. Whether it be the opening bars of “While I’m Still Here,” with Versace’s wonderful cinematic sounding organ, or the raucous but jubilant “Power Chords,” with Wind’s rumbling bowing and Robinson’s bellowing bass saxophone solo creating a driving, almost metal-inspired sound, there is something here for almost anyone.

On his composition  “Rose,” the delightfully evocative taragota work of Scott Robinson is otherworldly and when played together with Jensen’s clarion trumpet, the group attains an admirable symbiosis.  Wind’s booming bass keeps the metronomic time whilevVersace dances intuitively between piano and organ. The music just cries out to be listened to, absorbed and enjoyed.

“Ten Minute Song” is a jaunty swinger that features the versatile Robinson’s wonderful bass saxophone work over Wilson’s shuffling brush strokes and Wind’s walking bass lines. A jabbing piano solo by Versace leads to a wispy Jensen trumpet solo and a reply by Cohen’s buoyant clarinet. Wilson offers his own playful solo before the group returns to a unified conclusion.

The often cold and dreary month “February” is represented here by a brooding ballad. Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen makes the most of the mood with a moving solo. Wind’s pizzicato intonation is remarkably precise and projects beautifully on his emotional solo. Versace’s tinkling piano musings  at the coda adds to the perfect ending.

Side two transitions into a more lyrical theme with the folk-inspired, “Genius and A Saint." Here the music features some of the best woodwind interplay I’ve heard in ages. The ubiquitous Cohen is a marvel on her instrument, but Robinson is an underappreciated master of the clarinet and he finds his harmonic groove in a graceful exchange with Cohen that can only be described as pure magic.

Brazilian vocalist Maucha Adnet lends her bossa authenticity to sing Wind’s breezy “Seven Steps to Rio.” Robinson creates a marvelous Getz-ian tenor sound clearly in the spirit of the master’s work with Jobim before putting his own spin on his solo. Cohen’s clarinet rises to new heights as Fonseca’s animated drums add some percussive accents to this catchy tune.

“A Sad Story” finds Wind’s emotive arco-playing merging with Cohens’s soulful clarinet opening this aching lament. Adnet’s voice is charged with the sorrow and regret that the lyrics portray.

“De Norte A Sul” (From North to South) finds Wind and Fonseca laying down a samba inspired beat and features darting solos by Cohen, a soulful vocal by Adnet and an inspired solo by pianist Bill Cunliffe.

Wind rediscovered this closing melody, “Longing,” while researching material for this album. Cohen’s signature woody sound floats over the changes in graceful communion with the backing rhythm. Wind’s bass is again featured on a pizzicato solo that is accompanied by Fonseca’s ever so light touch on his cymbal and by Cunliffe’s thoughtful chording. Adnet’s vocal stylings are splendid.

Viking Quest: Review of Nordic Connect's "Spirals"

CD: Nordic Connect : Spirals ( Artist Share As 0097)

With the blood of Vikings running through their ancestral veins, Nordic Connect presents a challenging and inspired musical performance on their latest Artist Share release “Spirals”. The front line is made up of the Jensen sisters, Ingrid on trumpet and Christine on saxophones, who hail from the Canadian Northwest. The drummer John Wikan, an American who was born in Alaska. Only bassist Mattias Welin and pianist Maggi Olin ,who are Swedish born, are first generation Scandinavians.

On  "Spiral”, the music is challenging and harmonically full of surprises. Though atmospheric at times, the music essentially always retains some semblance of a melodic core throughout. Ingrid Jensen is a player who can soar on her trumpet with consummate ease and fluid grace. As an important member of the Maria Schneider Orchestra she is no stranger to challenging music. She has great command of her instrument usually choosing to play within the music, with little fanfare or grand standing despite her considerable virtuosity. She is adept at the use of electronics, adding an additional layer of texture to her music where she feels it is appropriate.

On “Spiral” she combines with her sister Christine, an accomplished saxophonist in her own right, to form a front line that plays with a masterful simpatico that only comes from years of familiarity.

On Maggi Olin’s serene “Travel Fever” the music slowly allows you to enter into a labyrinth of sounds as each instrument in the ensemble is introduced into the song. The band successfully build more and more interest, steadily adding layers of harmonic complexity on top of the forward moving rhythm with Wikan’s brushed traps keeping time.
It is this layering of sounds that captivates the listener’s attention.

“Song for Inga” is a waltz-like composition that alternates between soft pianissimo breaking into more aggressive fortissimo passages where Ingrid takes extended solos on her trumpet.Wikan crashes his cymbals to punctuate the change. Ingrid is given the freedom to solo in a wonderfully expressive series of measures. It is here she slowly reveals her virtuosity, her sure tone and her range of expression. She can deliver rapid-fire bursts in triple tongue that are bright and free of noise, cleanly building to a apex before her sister Christine enters in on her serpentine soprano over the pulsing rhythm section.

Ingrid Jensen’s “Earth Signs”, has a sound derivative of seventies Miles Davis, and is a combination of atmospherics laced with a sampling of funk..

Christine Jensen’s “Castle Mountain” has a rhythmic groove that features her on some darting, Shorter-esque soprano saxophone. Olin’s Fender Rhodes has an airy, distinctively seventies sound. Welin and Wikan keep time, as the front line play precisely in tandem. Wikam adds some percussive interest over the relentless beat maintained by Welin and Olin. It is the tasteful interplay that works so well to create this cohesive musical statement.

On “M-oving” Ingrid’s trumpet is muted. The distinctive compressive sound works well with Olin’s gracefully light piano. Jensen introduces the barest traces of electronics to her trumpet at the coda. The wistful “Yew” is a mellow composition that laces Christine’s soprano with what sounds like Ingrid’s flugelhorn, which she later switches to a muted trumpet. “66 Mike” features the two Jensen sisters playing in a duet that reminds me at times of the fine ensemble work of Jamie Baum’s recent group on  “Solace”. Ingrid’s trumpet has an airy quality to it that is accentuated by Olin’s effective use of the Fender Rhodes. “Ballad North” has a somber, processional -like quality to it. “Brejk a leg” starts out with a some electronic enhancements that are actuated by Jensen’s trumpet. Christine and Ingrid alternate lines on  sax and trumpet and then join in a duet through a series of twisting lines. The song then breaks into a syncopated rhythmic groove that features Olin, Welin and Wikam, while Jensen intersperses tasty trumpet lines over the top.

“Spirals” offers the listener a series of flawlessly executed compositions that feature some fine individual performannce. It plays as a mostly unified example of fine, postmodern jazz ensemble music. Ingrid Jensen’s articulate trumpet solos, are a particular delight.

Recorded : System II Brooklyn, NY Novemeber 22 & 23 , 2008

Musicians: Ingrid Jensen (trumpet, flugelhorn & electronics); Christine Jensen (Alto and soprano saxophones); Maggi Olin (Piano and Rhodes); Mattias Welin (Acoustic Bass); Jon Wikan (drums, cajon & percussion).