The Hidden Standard

After close to three years of trying to finish and get it released, The Hidden Standard is finally available on CD (here) as well as for download/streaming (elsewhere). Perhaps oddly for a guitarist’s album, it’s not actually overall that heavy on guitar—but it doesn’t need to be, when I’m in the good company of trumpeter Eric Jacobson, saxophonist Eric Schoor, pianist Mark Davis, bassist Jeff Hamann, and drummer David Bayles (a We Six lineup of recent vintage), along with special guest percussionists Bony Plog-Benavides, Amy Penington, and Robert Figueroa. And unlike my other recordings to date, it doesn’t contain a single original tune, but rather focuses on arrangements (eight by me, one by Schoor) of an eclectic mix of material, encompassing Beatles, Elton, Broadway, Joe Henderson, ’70s television, Carpenters, Monk, Prince, and folk.

I’m happy with the results, for both the presentation of these re-imagined songs and the playing vibe of all these friends and colleagues together. I certainly don’t claim that these are the most cutting-edge or sophisticated jazz sextet arrangements out there—they just represent a way of playing these tunes that I think hits the spot and gives this band a good vehicle for wailin’, and I hope that’s your feeling too as you take a listen!