Bassist and composer Martin Nevin has shared the stage with the likes of Albert “Tootie” Heath, Greg Osby, Ethan Iverson, and Ambrose Akinmusire, but Tenderness is Silent, to be released June 29th, marks his debut as a leader. Hard to categorize, drawing inspiration as much from jazz as from chamber music, Nevin’s compositions are introspective, deeply contemplative and cerebral in nature. Joined by Craig Weinrib on drums, Sam Harris on piano, and Roman Filiu and Kyle Wilson on saxophones, Nevin constantly challenges our wits with twists and turns worthy of an Agatha Christie novel. This could explain why he recently received an award from the Jerome Fund for New Music by the American Composers Forum. The album name, Tenderness is Silent (titled after a poem by Anna Akhmatova), refers to the inadequacy of words in expressing the most important and deepest of all feelings. When love is present it is unmistakable, inexpressible, and silent. The music occupies that silence. You can watch the video for “Sculpting in Time” taken from the recording session below.
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