By Brian Morton | Published November 2020
A title like White Noise might seem to come from the industrial end of things, but bassist Martin Wind intends it to refer to the gentler sounds of wind or water that can help soothe the clatter and contention of everyday life. The title piece was written specifically to be played with guitarist Philip Catherine and flugelhorn player Ack van Rooyen, and it’s perfectly suited for them.
Wind interweaves his own compositions with standards, leaving respectful room for 90-year-old van Rooyen’s elegiac but not mournful “Autumn Bugle.” It’s a pity, perhaps, that there isn’t room for something by Catherine, a mere stripling at 77. But the fact is, this is very much the bassist’s record. That’s obvious from the almost Bach-like arco that opens Kenny Wheeler’s “Canter.” Wind is a master with the bow, but it’s his plucked lines—gracious and singing—that define his sound. He resembles no one more than another European master, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, who was an early influence. “The Dream” was written for a duo with Pat Metheny, but Catherine’s lightly amplified, ringing tone is perfect for it, too. The title still might mislead, but, taken as intended, it offers pure balm.
White Noise: Canter; Everything I Love; White Noise; But Beautiful; The Dream; Autumn Bugle; A Genius And A Saint; I Fall In Love Too Easily. (44:14)
Personnel: Martin Wind, bass; Philip Catherine, guitar; Ack van Rooyen, flugelhorn.
