Tim Lin: Empathy

Saxophonist Tim Lin, still fresh enough on the scene to be described as a "young lion," tips his horn to a number of his mentors on Empathy, his second album as a leader, following 2021's Romance on Formosa. As on that earlier album, Lin, a first generation Taiwanese-American (from Fremont, CA), has chosen a charming blend of standards and jazz staples to complement a lone original composition, "Fourth Right," by the superb pianist Andy LaVerne. And as before, Lin plays tenor most of the way, moving to soprano on two of nine numbers.

Hank Mobley is cited as an influence on the sunny opener, "If I Should Lose You," Lin's former teacher Jerry Bergonzi as a guiding hand behind "Table Steaks," which Bergonzi wrote as a salute to Benny Golson's "Stablemates." Lin follows "Steaks" with a lovely rendition of the ballad "Namely You," written by Johnny Mercer and Gene DePaul for the Broadway musical Li'l Abner, and LaVerne's earnest "Fourth Right," on which he switches to soprano, as he does on a slower-than-usual reading of Herbie Hancock's sensuous "Dolphin Dance."

Lin is seductive on Bill Evans' oft-recorded "Waltz for Debby," sharp and plain-spoken on the closing numbers, Harry Warren/Mack Gordon's enchanting "I Wish I Knew" and Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash's beguiling "Speak Low," again from Broadway (1943's One Touch of Venus). LaVerne takes the opening solos on "Table Steaks," "Waltz for Debby" and "I Wish I Knew," showing there (as elsewhere) why he is such a sought-after teammate, one who has no less than sixty albums as leader under his belt. Meanwhile, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Billy Drummond do what they do best, which is keeping the rhythm steady and tight.

While a number of Lin's influences are named including Bob Sheppard (who produced both of Lin's albums), Bob Mintzer, Steve Grossman, Michael Brecker and Larry Schneider, it's not hard to name some others to whom Lin has more than likely listened and learned, among them Eric Alexander, Don Menza, Ralph Moore and the late Mark Colby. Even so, Lin has developed an impressive voice of his own, one that comes to the fore more often than not on Empathy and is well worth hearing.