For those unaware, pianist Noah Haidu sees a certain irony in his current recorded output. “I love composing but improvisation has always been my greatest passion. When I started releasing music in 2011 I relied on my songwriting to make a unique artistic statement, but I’ve come full circle and realized that finding my own voice on a simple, unadorned standard is a rare and necessary endeavor.”

Haidu embraced that endeavor on his 2023 release Standards, and on Standards II, due out April 12th, 2024 on Sunnyside Records. Furthermore, popular expressiveness has his new album as a breathtaking masterpiece, and one that features Haidu with two of the music’s most esteemed players, Buster Williams on bass and Billy Hart on drums.

1. Over The Rainbow (10:25)
2. Someone To Watch Over Me (7:56)
3. Up Jumped Spring (11:53)
4. Obsesión (8:42)
5. Days of Wine and Roses (7:49)
6. After You’ve Gone (6:04)
7. I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good) (7:45)

This brand new recording opens on the, at first fervently sculpted, latterly languishing and ornate, ten minute Over The Rainbow and then brings us the sheer elegance of Someone To Watch Over Me and the delicately-hued, latterly warmly enraptured Up Jumped Spring.

Along next is the finger-snapping decadence of Obsesión which is itself backed by the sumptuous rhythms within Days of Wine and Roses, the album rounding out on the upbeat sophistication of After You’ve Gone, closing on the late night vibe that ebbs and flows within the gorgeous I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good).

Musicians:
Noah Haidu - piano
Buster Williams - bass
Billy Hart - drums

www.noahhaidu.com