Salt 'N Pepper

Albenrezension

Bassist Martin Wind's third Challenge CD is a quartet date with pianist Bill Cunliffe, Scott Robinson (a musician who likely can play and probably owns every known instrument in the reed and brass families, including many obscure items), and drummer Greg Hutchinson. Seven of the ten songs are Wind's compositions. The bittersweet "The Dream" conveys a sense of longing, with terrific solos all around and soft brush work by Hutchinson. Robinson's vocal-like bass clarinet and Wind's arco bass engage in a playful dissonant exchange before "Remember October 13th" (in honor of the late bassist Ray Brown's birthday) begins to take shape, becoming a quirky, walking trio blues with Hutchinson rounding out the trio. One can almost envision the second line moving along the parade route to follow a Crescent City band in "Early Morning Blues," with Cunliffe's down-home piano and Robinson overdubbing tenor sax and echo cornet (the latter alternately with and without a mute). Wind also explores three gems by jazz masters. He doesn't stray far from the roots of Bill Evans' lovely "Turn Out the Stars," playing it in an easygoing setting with Robinson's expressive tenor out front. Wind reshapes Thelonious Monk's "Bright Mississippi" into a lively calypso, while his solemn, reverent interpretation of Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday" also showcases Robinson on tenor sax.