Dec. 2021 Issue - JazzTimes magazine

Review by Dan Bilawsky

My Astoria Queen, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)- Martin Wind’s life was changed irrevocably upon his arrival in New York. While testing the waters and surveying the scene during a stateside visit in 1995, it took less than 24 hours for the German-born bassist to meet the woman whom he would later marry.

After he made the move there the following year, both the city and an evolving relationship would become nurturing constants for his artistry. Now, a quarter-century later, Wind pays loving tribute to place and partner with My Astorian Queen.

Teaming with three close colleagues—multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson, pianist Bill Mays, and drummer Matt Wilson—Wind reminisces in style.

Dec. 15 2021 - JazzProfiles

Review by Steven Cerra

My Astoria Queen, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)- Occasionally, something arrives that "speaks to us" and we enjoy sharing that with you via a feature on these pages.

Such was the case with the recent arrival of bassist's Martin Wind's My Astorian Queen which released on www.laika-records.com on 12 November 2021 and features him with pianist Bill Mays, drummer Matt Wilson and multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson.

Martin is the real deal. My only regret as I write this is that he is based on the East Coast and I’m not.

March 7, 2022 - The Whole Note

Review by Leslie Mitchell-Clarke

Martin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen, New York Bass Quartet "Air", (Laika Records)-

German-born first-call New York City-based Martin Wind arrived in his chosen home town more than 25 years ago. It wasn’t long before the talented young artist and his warm, fat sound, rock solid sense of time, intensity and excellent taste became the bassist of preference for an array of top jazz artists, bandleaders and Broadway conductors. Despite the global pandemic, he has created and released two brilliant, new recording projects in quick succession for the noted German label, Laika Records.

Feb. 2022 - Issue 238

Review by Ken Dryden

Martin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen – 25 Years On The New York Jazz Scene, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)-

German Martin Wind was a busy bassist as a young man, but his first visit to New York convinced him that he would soon call it home. To celebrate his 25th anniversary of moving, he recruited pianist Bill Mays, multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson and drummer Matt Wilson, all of whom have worked with him over the years

January 2022 - Jersey Jazz Magazine

Review by Joseph Lang

Martin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen – 25 Years On The New York Jazz Scene, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)-

"MARTIN WIND came to New York City from Germany about 25 years ago and quickly established himself as a first-call bassist. He is not only a fine player but also a composer of note as he demonstrates on three of the nine tracks on My Astorian Queens (Lakia Records – 35103912). Wind fronts a quartet comprising Scott Robinson on tenor sax, bass sax, clarinet and trumpet, Bill Mays on piano and Matt Wilson on drums. They play beautifully together. Wind, Mays and Wilson have performed together many times and Robinson is a cat who can fit seamlessly into any musical setting. In addition to the Wind originals, the program includes “Mean What You Say” by Thad Jones, “Peace Waltz” by Mays and “È Preciso Perduar” by Carlos Cequeijo and Aleivando Luz, plus three standards, “Broadway,” “There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon for New York” and the Kander and Ebb “New York, New York.” The music on My Astorian Queen is immediately engaging and never allows your attention to flag."

Nov. 2021 Issue - Hot House Jazz magazine

Winning Spins - by George Kanzler

My Astoria Queen, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika), is subtitled "25 Years on the New York Jazz Scene" and contains mostly songs Martin has played and/or recorded with various bands, including his own, over that quarter century. He is joined here by multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson, pianist Bill Mays, and drummer Matt Wilson. Martin solos on all nine tracks. Two of them are duets. Bill's "Peace Waltz" includes arco bass in the opening and closing themes, with Martin playing pizzicato and Bill soloing lyrically in the middle. "New York, New York" is by Martin and Matt, drums creating a back-beat shuffle behind Martin's upfront pizzicato bass.

Scott shows his multiple skills on Thad Jones' lively "Mean What You Say," mashing up the theme and solo improv on trumpet, then following Martin's solo with one on tenor sax, trading fours with Matt on that instrument too. Martin's "Solitude" is an original, not the Duke Ellington piece, and finds Scott limning the theme on clarinet. It also showcases a resonantly ringing solo from Martin. Scott goes to "Broadway" on bass sax, plays tenor on three other tracks, and bounces back on trumpet on "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York," notable for a catchy trumpet-bass duet.

Dec. 6 2021 - Jazz Journal magazine

Review by Brian Payne

Martin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen – 25 Years On The New York Jazz Scene, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)-

"This album is top-drawer jazz. The band is a class act and the sound quality is superlative.""

January 2022 - nettavisen.no website (Norwegian Review)

Review by Tor Hammerø

Martin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen – 25 Years On The New York Jazz Scene, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)-

January 2022 - jazzthing.de website

Review by Rolf Thomas

Martin Wind Quartet: My Astorian Queen – 25 Years On The New York Jazz Scene, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)-

Mit diesem Album feiert der deutsche Bassist Martin Wind – gewidmet ist es seiner Frau, die aus dem New Yorker Viertel Astoria stammt – sein Vierteljahrhundert in New York.

Review from Greece!

January 2022

MARTIN WIND QUARTET the German double bass player completes 25 years in New York and celebrates it with an excellent CD, Martin Wind Quartet (Laika)-

"German double bass player, born in Flensburg (northern Germany) in 1968, Martin Wind is a well-known-unknown here at the record mine. "

Unknown at first, because we have never written about any of his personal work, with him as leader - one of the many that has been released in the last 30 years - but having written many times, for albums in which he has participated as a session musician. (more on reviewer website)

Rockerilla in Italy

MARTIN WIND QUARTET
My Astorian Queen Laika

It has all the air of being an act of gratitude to the Big Apple, the city that welcomed him twenty-five years ago from his native Germany, opening him ipso facto access to the prestigious local jazz circuit, the collection that sees the double bass player Martin Wind, owner of a quartet made up of the musicians who most often shared stages and recording rooms with him, namely: the pianist Bill May, the saxophonist and trumpeter Scott Robinson and the drummer Matt Wilson.

A resounding thanks to New York, therefore, but also a cordial and elegant invitation to fans forced to postpone their next visit to that area and the opportunity to enjoy live the repertoire unveiled by the lineup in My Astorian Queen.

Starting with the enthralling swing exhibited in Mean What You Say, a Thad Jones workhorse that Wind has inextricably linked to his first time as a spectator at the legendary Village Vanguard, a reinterpretation that sees Robinson take on the role of the showman.

Other highlights of the record include Broadway marked by Robinson's gruff bass saxophone again and May's piano agility, an impeccable homage to Jobim and Getz (E Preciso Perduar) and an inevitable New York, New York version.