While old guard guitarists like Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Grant Green and Tal Farlow may have set the standard for playing standards, there’s a new guard of guitarists who are taking up that mantle and putting their own slant on tunes from the Great American Songbook in the process. Perhaps the most audacious
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Canadian guitarist Lorne Lofsky, one of the living masters of pianistic chording on the instrument, is back after a 27-year absence from recording under his own name (his last was 1994’s Bill, Please, his tribute to Bill Evans). On This Song Is New (Modica Music), the former Oscar Peterson sideman and Ed Bickert protege is joined by powerhouse tenor saxophonist Kirk MacDonald and the reliably swinging veteran rhythm tandem of bassist Kieren Overs and drummer Barry Romberg on interpretations of standards like Miles Davis’ “Seven Steps to Heaven” (done in 5/4) and Benny Golson’s“Stablemates” (reimagined as a bossa nova) alongside originals like the harmonically shifting waltz “An Alterior Motif” and the tricky “Evans from Lennie,” a paean to both Bill Evans and Lennie Tristano. And though Lofsky does indeed flaunt his chordal mastery throughout this excellent outing, his fluid single note lines are equally impressive. A must for Ted Greene devotees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-PkWLOhkEE
The Brooklyn-based Bay Area native Perry Smith takes an elegant approach to standards on Peace (Smith Tone Records). Accompanied by New York bassist Sam Minaie and Los Angeles drummer Dan Schnelle, the tight, interactive trio explores evergreens like Richard Rodgers’ “This Nearly Was Mine,” Billy Strayhdorn’s “Upper Manhattan Medical Group” and two Jimmy Van Heusen gems in “Darn That Dream” and “Like Someone in Love.” The title track, Horace Silver’s gorgeous ballad “Peace,” is rendered with a touch of reverence by the trio.
Three solo guitar pieces — Thad Jones’ delicate “A Child Is Born,” Victor Scherzinger’s “I Remember You” and Arthur Schwartz’s “Alone Together” — provide an added treat for jazz guitar enthusiasts. Smith’s tone on his Gibson ES-175 is warm and clean while his chordal playing is accomplished and deftly integrated into his brilliant single note lines. Those interested in old school GuitArtistry will definitely want to check this out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FFtZzNUWik
Kansas City-born guitarist and longtime Berklee College of Music educator John Stein has his way with standards on Serendipity (Whaling City Sound). Accompanied by drummer Mike Connors and electric bass guitarist Ed Lucie, who brings a facile Steve Swallow-like quality to the proceedings, this copacetic trio recorded live inside the New Bedford Art Museum in Massachusetts for a live stream concert planned during the pandemic by Whaling City Sound’s Neal Weiss.
The resulting sound is superb and their chemistry sublime on well-known standards like Sonny Rollins’ “Alfie’s Theme,” Thelonious Monk’s “Well, You Needn’t,” Jobim’s “How Insensitive,” Bronislau Kaper’s “On Green Dolphin Street” and the oft-played chestnuts “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” and “East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” Stein originals like the funky boogaloo “Bing Bang Boom!,” the New Orleans second-line flavored “Happy Hour” and the mid tempo swinger “Elvin!” are icing on this standards cake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAnMpTUJLiI
Greg Skaff turns in tasty renditions of “Old Devil Moon,” “Yesterdays” and Duke Ellington’s “Lady of the Lavender Mist,” all accompanied by a regal, octogenarian rhythm tandem of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, along with a poignant solo guitar showcase on Harold Arlen’s “Ill Wind” on Polaris (SMK Jazz).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8AJ8EkIZY8
Maine guitarist Will St. Peter joins Washington state bassist Steve Heffner and Los Angeles drummer Steve Barnes for some beautifully subdued and highly conversational readings of Henry Mancini’s “Days of Wine and Roses,” Sammy Fain’s “I’ll Be Seeing You,” Alec Wilder’s “Blackberry Winter,” Victor Scherzinger’s “Tangerine,” Steve Swallow’s “Falling Grace” and Ornette Coleman’s “Turnaround” on Honestly (OA2 Records).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUJ2ydz_-VA
Sacramento native and former Charles Mingus disciple Henry Robinett plays with a warm, clean tone and a driving sense of swing on Then Again: Jazz Standards, Volume 2 (Nefertiti Records). A spirited quartet session with pianist Joe Gilman handling all the chording and the steady rhythm tandem of bassist Chris Symer and drummer Michael Stephans propelling the session, it features Robinett blowing cascading, Wes-inspired single note solos on swinging uptempo versions of “Yours Is My Heart Alone,” Lerner & Lowe’s “On the Street Where You Live,” Cole Porter’s “I Love You” and Jimmy Van Heusen’s “It Could Happen To You” before settling into sublime standards like “Body and Soul,” “Darn That Dream” and Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Mood” with a soulful, sublime touch. An excellent, swinging session for jazz guitar fans to savor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPH89il4vnE