Martin Wind Newsletter

I think that I’ll take some time off from the live streaming business for now, but boy was it fun to be playing some tunes from the new “White Noise” album with my friends Scott Robinson on tenor saxophone and trumpet, and Dave Stryker on guitar!

Unfortunately, we encountered some technical difficulties (again) at the beginning of the live stream but eventually provided some audio from our backyard in Teaneck, NJ, where we once again had a live audience of invited friends and family members.

Here is a video of our opening number "I should care": https://youtu.be/dGLqUxSnlTs
 

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by a family friend with an interesting proposition: could I put together a jazz trio to pretend playing along with dancers from the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in a performance of their choreography of Duke Ellington’s “Pas de Duke” on the rooftop terrace of the Woolworth Building in Manhattan?

“Of course!”, I responded while thinking…only in New York!
Channel 11 News came out to film the event for a report on the improvising New York art scene that has been branching out to new locations and cultivating alternative venues.
 
Here is a picture of Matt Wilson, Ken Peplowski, and I after playing about 1 ½ choruses of “Cherokee” – strangely enough, it matched the movements of the two incredible dancers beautifully!

Over the last few years, Harry Allen and I have spent more time together on the tennis court than on stage. I would not mind if that would change at all.

On Saturday, October 3 our two obsessions will be brought together in one event, a fundraiser concert for the Packanack Lake Tennis Light Fund. Also featured will be new vocal sensation Lucy Yeghiazaryan from Armenia and the omnipresent John DiMartino on piano.

Because of COVID and the global lockdown, most musicians have not been able to travel and perform since the middle of March; as a result, I have not been able to see my family and friends in Germany for close to a year.
 
In a couple of weeks, I will be flying to Germany for a one-week tour with a quartet that I’ve been co-leading with my dear friend Ulf Meyer, which also features the talents of Danish drum legend Alex Riel (who just turned 80 years old!), as well as the new piano star of the WDR Bigband, Billy Test.
 
As of now, we are not sure, yet, if Alex will be able to join us due to new COVID regulations in Denmark: Copenhagen and the surrounding region have just been added to the list of risk regions.
 
I will have to get tested twice and go into quarantine for five days in between those two tests before meeting the guys for our rehearsal – the things that we have to do these days, but it’ll be worth it!

A couple of day after this tour I will be meeting up with tenor saxophonist Peter Weniger and drummer Jonas Burgwinkel for the recording of our debut trio album on October 28 & 29 in Berlin. We already had a couple of dates reserved in April, but they had to be canceled for obvious reasons.

After helping Peter celebrate his birthday on October 30 I will be joining actress and author Katharina Pütter for a matinee performance of our New York-themed program combining excerpts and short stories by Truman Capotes (“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”), Woody Allen, and Doretha parker with solo bass versions of compositions by George Gershwin, Henry Mancini, and Miles Davis.
 

For the latest reviews on my new album please go to our page at  http://martinwind.com/whitenoise/.

The album should be featured in the November issue of Downbeat Magazine, too, fingers crossed!
 
Here is a nice feature that was just published in the longest-running jazz magazine in Germany, the Jazzpodium:

View Jazzpodium article
 

While I’m mentioning new releases: please check out this album by swinging pianist and singer
Dena DeRose! I’ve been part of her trio along with my man Matt Wilson for close to 20 years now.
I believe that this is our sixth or seventh album together, and it’s a good one! With us are special guests Sheila Jordan, Houston Person, and Jeremy Pelt – we are talking real jazz royalty here, and I feel absolutely honored to be playing with them on this album.
 
Here is what critic Paul de Barros had to say in his 4 ½ star review in the October issue of Downbeat Magazine:

“I hope this album catapults DeRose to the notoriety she deserves. With her smart phrasing, clean delivery, and swinging piano playing, she’s one of the best jazz vocalists working today.”

Due to the epidemic, we had to cancel our plans to visit Greece this summer and alternative travel plans within the U.S. had to be deserted, too. Even though a bit delayed, we eventually got to enjoy some family time away from home at the always mesmerizing Mohonk Mountain House near New Paltz, NY. We undertook several spectacular hikes and concurred the legendary “Labyrinth”, which is usually closed off for the winter months.
What a magical place…