One of the most exciting milestones in a musician’s career is their first recording, and in Tenor Saxophonist Tim Lin’s case, his first public offering bears the hallmarks of an emerging artist stepping onto the scene for the long haul.

The evocative title chosen by the Taiwanese-American saxophonist, “Romance in Formosa” is as much a play on words (the record is a standards album composed of 5 romantic gems drawn from that mighty repertorial benchmark, The Great American Songbook as well as a Sonny Rollins tune and an original composition a piece) as it embodies the strong, eternal values that serve as the pillars of Tim’s burgeoning artistry. Heritage (Taiwan was once the “Republic of Formosa”), Romance (one phrase from Tim’s horn reveals this) and Tradition (the depth of his tone transports one to the golden age of the Jazz art form). However, one mustn’t confuse Tim’s respect and consideration for Jazz and its history with the stodgy traditionalism so prevalent in his generation of straight ahead jazz musicians. Mahler once mused that “Tradition is not the worship of ashes but the Preservation of Fire” and after my first listen, it was apparent that I had just experienced the work of a true Keeper of the Flame.

From the first notes of Jay Anderson’s opening bass statement, the listener is transported and then locked into a groove as the solo morphs into a hypnotic repeated figure introducing Tim’s ebullient and refined tenor tone. The pair quickly meets Billy Drummond’s definitive ride cymbal and the band is off to the races morphing from chordless trio to quartet as Andy LaVerne’s deft comping sneaks onto the aural canvas, lifting Tim’s treatment of the melody into the sonic skies with the veteran rhythm section functioning as a buoyant net supporting the jagged and snaky Sonny Rollins line.

From there, Tim ambitiously tackles Harry Warren’s “You’re My Everything”- though this 1931 tune has been co-opted by Jazz musicians for well over half a century, it is associated with Freddie Hubbard (it is the first track of Hubbard’s 1962 masterpiece “Hubtones”). Though Tim channels Hubbard’s take at the top of the track, it soon becomes a vehicle for a “tenor battle” featuring his mentor (and the producer of this record) the legendary Bob Sheppard (who was, for many years, a member of Hubbard’s working band). You can clearly hear the influence of the master on his student though the lines become quickly blurred and the result is a joyful exchange between a musician who has seen it all, played it all, done it all, and his star protege. If this isn’t a passing of the torch of the highest level, I’m not sure what is! On a personal note, when I met Tim in

New York City in the fall of 2022, he sat in at the late night jam session I run at Smalls Jazz Club in Greenwich Village, this is the tune Tim called. From his first breathy, complex notes, heads were turned and everyone in the club knew that we were in the presence of an emerging voice to be taken seriously.

Next up is Jerome Kern’s “Long Ago and Far Away”. Tim’s warm and complex tenor sound is at the forefront of this track as he kicks off this songbook staple. Phil Woods would always relate a story of Charlie Parker borrowing his alto to play a jam session at Arthur’s Tavern and launching into a medium tempo “Long Ago and Far Away”- there is a mystical and open quality to this tune, the perfect template for a seeker like Tim. Closing my eyes, I hear a searching, wandering quality that harkens back to a mid-century romanticism- visions of Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady in the holy 1948 Hudson traversing America and stopping in to a local watering hole in San Francisco to hear a old school tenor man like Wardell Gray play tunes like this all night.

Just as I thought this record couldn’t be more saturated in a romantic aesthetic, Tim patiently handles the 1949 Victor Young ballad, “My Foolish Heart” (which was written for the film of the same name). This is another tune recorded by all of the grandmasters, from Stan Getz to Johnny Hartman and was a staple of Bill Evans’ repertoire. Tim’s pitch/intonation on the tenor is absolutely (and impressively) studio-perfect, allowing him the freedom to let shape and color his phrases in such a mature and nuanced way. It is rare to hear a young jazz musician in 2022 engage in such subtle forms of expression.

“How Deep is the Ocean” begins with a nice extended vamp section featuring an angular figure nimbly played in unison by Anderson and Sheppard on bass clarinet. The figure extends into and through the tune, providing a spaciousness (absent of piano comping) that serves as the perfect launching pad for a Jay Anderson solo. LaVerne then appears for a deftly swinging piano solo. Anderson’s walking lines and Drummond’s perfect high hat/ride cymbal accompaniment make for a wonderful trio sound under LaVerne’s intuitive solo. This is followed by some lovely Bob Sheppard bass clarinet work- Sheppard’s bass clarinet sound is warm, huge and in tune- qualities often missing in the use of this instrument in a jazz context. As Tim plays his one chorus solo (there is no straight restatement of the melody), he demonstrates very tasteful post-Coltrane influences with Steve Grossman and Jerry Bergonzi-esque runs leading back into the unison bass/bass clarinet figure as an outro vamp. Very interesting arrangement and take on another tune we have all heard before- an impressive feat!

You’re a Weaver of Dreams, while recorded by everyone from Nat “King” Cole to Kenny Burrell, is most often associated in tenor-land with John Coltrane’s

definitive 1959 take with Cannonball Adderley’s quintet live in Chicago (really just the Miles Davis Sextet of the “Kind of Blue” era, sans Miles, recorded live on a night off from the Davis unit). The temptation for a young tenor player to copy Coltrane’s sound and phrasing is incredibly strong when recording a tune so closely associated with the tenor titan, but Tim resists the urge completely, employing a warmer and darker sound void of any Coltrane-ish ornamentation. You really hear the straight forward phraseology and influence of Bob Mintzer in Tim’s playing on this track. The track also features yours truly’s favorite LaVerne solo on the record.

Romance in Formosa’s narrative resolves with a high energy original composition entitled “Pursuing Resolution”; a post-Coltrane inspired twin Tenor tune that recalls the 1970’s tenor pairings of Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman in Elvin Jones’ group. Here Tim is playing from the “Jewish Tenor” bag, the term referring to the group of Coltrane inspired 1970’s tenor titans (many of whom happened to be NY Jews- Liebman, Grossman, Brecker, Mintzer, Berg) and Sheppard switches to soprano on his solo, playing some of the best soprano saxophone I have heard in years. A warm, in tune and intense sound with loads of harmonic subtlety in his lines.

This record stands alone as not only the debut record of a new voice in jazz, but as simply a wonderful modern Jazz album. It is rich in conception and nuance and is a testimony to the enduring qualities of the Jazz tradition.

Aaron Johnson New York Jazz Saxophonist