Bio

Bassist and composer Martin Wind was born in Flensburg, Germany in 1968 and moved to New York in 1996 to study at New York University (NYU) with a scholarship by the German Academic Exchange Service.

In 1995 he earned himself a diploma as Orchestra Musician at the Music Conservatory in Cologne, Germany while studying with Prof. Wolfgang Güttler, former bassist with the Berlin Philharmonics.

In 1998 he earned his master's degree in Jazz Performance and Composition studying with Mike Richmond, Jim McNeely, Tom Boras, Mike Holober, and Kenny Werner.

Since his move to New York Martin has become a regular at all major jazz clubs and is also in demand as a session player; his credits include movies such as "The Alamo", "Intolerable Cruelty", "Mona Lisa Smiles", "Fur", "True Grit", "The Adventures of Walter Mitty", and "Gemini Man".

In 1995 Martin came in third at the International Thelonious Monk Bass Competition in Washington, D.C.

In 1996 Martin Wind won the first Cognac Hennessy/Blue Note Jazz Search in Germany with his trio "Dreiklang" and got to record an album for Blue Note Records.

In 2000 he was the first jazz musician to win the Cultural Award of his home state Schleswig-Holstein.

Martin has released more than 20 albums as leader/co-leader including his debut album "Gone with the Wind" (1993), quartet recordings "Salt & Pepper" (2007) and "Get it?" (2009), as well as the orchestral album "Turn out the Stars – music written or inspired by Bill Evans" (2014) featuring Scott Robinson (tenor sax), Bill Cunliffe (piano) and Joe La Barbera (drums), which Paquito D'Rivera called "disgustingly beautiful". More recent releases include "Light Blue" (2018) and "White Noise" (2020), and "My Astorian Queen" (2021) in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his move to New York City. In 2022 he presented a new project, the New York Bass Quartet: in his 4 ½ star review for Downbeat Magazine, Bill Milkowski called it a "bass manifesto".

Currently Martin is a member of the trios of Bill Mays, Dena DeRose, Bill Cunliffe, Ann Hampton Callaway, Ted Rosenthal, as well as the quartets of Matt Wilson ("Arts and Crafts") and Ken Peplowski. Since 2013 he has also been touring with Belgian guitarist and jazz legend Philip Catherine, playing material from their duo album "New Folks" (ACT Records).

Martin Wind has recorded and/or performed with the following artists: Guidon Kremer, Christoph Eschenbach, Mstislav Rostopowitch, Lalo Schifrin, Monty Alexander, Pat Metheny, Clark Terry, Mark Murphy, Slide Hampton, Toots Thielemans, Buddy DeFranco, The Metropole Orchestra, Radio Big Bands Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Eddie Daniels, Curtis Fuller, Phil Woods, Bud Shank, Johnny Griffin, Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Stern, Larry Goldings, Johnny Mandel, Frank Wess, James Moody, Hank Jones, John Scofield, Sting, Ann Hampton Callaway, Michel Legrand, Mulgrew Miller, Anat Cohen, Benny Green, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and others.

Martin Wind is on the faculty at New York University and Hofstra University; he has taught at the National Youth Jazz Orchestra Germany and the Centrum, Stanford, and Litchfield Jazz Camps among others.

Martin was commissioned to write music for the American Place Theatre productions of Tim O'Brien's "The things they carried" (2005) and Jeanette Walls' "The Glass Castle" (2007). One of his arrangements appeared in the 2014 movie "Love is Strange" feat. John Lithgow and Tony Molina.

Since 2015 he's been part of the Kennedy Center Honors Gala, backing up world stars such as James Taylor, Reneé Fleming, John Legend, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock a.o.

In 2018 he premiered his bass concerto "Legacy" with his hometown orchestra; he has also written the sonata "Into the light" for bass and piano, many arrangements, and original compositions for bass ensemble and about 100 jazz tunes and concert pieces.