Martin Wind - Tender Waves (2007)

The influence of Bill Evans is quite strong on Tender Waves, which is Martin Wind's second album as a leader and was recorded in Holland in 1994. This Dutch release finds the acoustic bassist forming a piano trio with drummer Keith Copeland and the lyrical, melodic pianist Bill Mays, who brings his appreciation of Evans to Wind's thoughtful compositions as well as introspective versions of George Gershwin's "There's A Boat That's Leaving Shortly for New York" (one of the Gershwin classics that hasn't been overdone by jazz musicians in recent years) and Caetano Veloso's Brazilian classic "Coracao Vagabundo." But while Evans is among Mays' strongest influences, Mays is nonetheless his own man. Mays is an admirer of Evans, but not a clone-and ultimately, it is Mays' own lyricism, not the ghost of Bill Evans, that proves valuable to Wind on this memorable CD. ~Alex Henderson