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Bill Mays Trio: Autumn Serenade
by Dan Bilawsky
In Autumn Serenade, Bill Mays gifts us a bountiful harvest of seasonally-bound beauties. This 40th leader date from the eminent pianist finds him fronting a trio with two longtime colleagues--bassist Dean Johnson and drummer Ron Vincent--and welcoming vocalist Judy Kirtley and producer/guitarist Matt Balitsaris for guest appearances on a single track. Together, all parties join up for a musical journey filled with reflection and romance. Opening on the John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman-associated “Autumn Serenade," Mays makes good on ...
read moreMartin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen
by Jack Bowers
Bassist Martin Wind, born in Flensburg, Germany, moved to New York City in 1996 and has called the area home ever since— more specifically, suburban New Jersey where he lives with his wife, Maria, two grown sons and one dog. Wind had been in New York for less than forty-eight hours when he was introduced to Maria who lived in an apartment in a predominantly Greek area of Astoria, Queens; soon afterward, she became Wind's Astorian Queen and lifelong companion. ...
read moreMartin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen
by Pierre Giroux
Bassist Martin Wind is a German national who received his early education and began his career in that country. He arrived in the US in the mid 90s to further his musical education, and studied with the likes of Jim McNeely, Mike Holober and Kenny Werner among others. He eventually began to receive broader recognition through his association with pianist Bill Mays. Over the years, and now a U.S. resident, he has gained a reputation as a multifaceted musician both ...
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by Mark Corroto
Bassist Martin Wind reminds us that “nostalgia" is not a four-letter word (or nine-letter for that matter). Wind would say, “nein" to that idea. The German-born bassist, now a solid member of New York's jazz community, can be heard in piano trios led by Bill Mays, Ted Rosenthal, and Bill Cunliffe, in drummer Matt Wilson's various projects, and in a duo with Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine, to name just a few ensembles in which he is THE in-demand sideman. As ...
read moreBobby Shew / Bill Mays: Telepathy
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Trumpet and piano duo albums are relatively rare. Louis Armstrong and Earl “Fatha" Hines' “Weather Bird" (1928) was a groundbreaker, although a single. Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie (Pablo, 1974) and Clark Terry's One on One (Chesky Records, 1999), where CT played with fourteen different jazz pianists, come to mind. Telepathy, a horn-piano collaboration featuring trumpeter Bobby Shew and pianist Bill Mays, continues the tradition—and, brilliantly so. Originally recorded in 1978 and released in 1982, the session is an exploration ...
read moreBill Mays and Friends: Mays Plays Mays
by Jack Bowers
Apart from whatever else it may entail, Mays Plays Mays surpasses most other recent enterprises thanks in large measure to pianist Bill Mays' singular artistry as composer, arranger and keyboard master. Now well into his seventh decade, Mays, who has made his living playing mostly other people's music, has devoted this album (for the most part) to his own songs and charts, even appending lyrics to (and singing on) a pair of them ("Play Song," whose lyric is by Mays' ...
read moreBill Mays and Friends: Mays Plays Mays
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
In a career that has flourished for more than half a century and shows no signs whatsoever of slowing down, pianist, composer and author Bill Mays has always been known for his immaculate technique, distinctive creativity, swing and wit. Few players on any instrument are this consistently light-hearted, whether it is reflected in spontaneous and funny quoting or the clearly audible fact that this genuinely happy man is, quite literally, “playing" music to delight himself, as well as the listener. ...
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