Ted Rosenthal Trio: High Standards

Ted Rosenthal has remarkably high standards. How else to explain his vast achievement(s) over the past four decades? This ace pianist and composer has done it all—topped the pack at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, worked with the crème de la crème (i.e., baritone saxophone icon Gerry Mulligan, alto saxophone legend Phil Woods, multi-hyphenate Bob Brookmeyer, etc.), crafted over a dozen superb leader dates, penned a critically-acclaimed jazz opera (Dear Erich), fulfilled commissions for notable dance troupes, performed with some of the world's great orchestras and passed on his wisdom as a faculty member at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. The list of accolades goes on and on—Rosenthal's résumé reads more like a multi-volume anthology than a typical two-sheet—and it probably seems like there are no other high bars for this man to clear. But he proves that assumption wrong with the anticipated release of four albums in the span of a year.

With the "Trio in 4 acts" project, Rosenthal highlights several different facets of his artistry as framed within his two working trios. High Standards, kicking off this ambitious run of albums, is all about a focus on favorites from the pianist's current repertoire. Offering tasteful and artful twists on standards, Rosenthal demonstrates why he's known the world over as a paragon of class and creativity.

Starting off with Leonard Bernstein's "Jet Song," Rosenthal and company take Broadway another way, with cadential drums, a touch of Latin sprightliness and plenty of seriously swinging music. The leader's bravura soloing, with both chordal majesty and attractive single-note lines, speaks to his mastery of the 88s, Martin Wind's arco work proves equally impressive, and some brief trades with Tim Horner give the drummer some space to shine. Hoagy Carmichael's immortal "Skylark" follows, placing the spotlight on the leader via a gorgeous intro. Once things settle into a comfortable swing tempo, Horner's expert brush work is right on the money, Wind walks with an impeccable feel and gives a model pizzicato solo, and Rosenthal is completely in the zone from then to mellow end.

The trio with Wind and Horner helps to set the tone with those initial performances and appears on the majority of the album. But not to be outdone, bassist Norika Ueda and drummer Quincy Davis appear in a few places and make notable contributions. Together, with Rosenthal, that pair enlivens a time-twisting take on "Old Devil Moon"—a performance complete with smile-inducing, quote-laced piano trades—and they offer a few witty wrinkles to the swing-ular sensation of "One." Additionally, in the lone example of a personnel mix-and-match, Ueda and Horner join forces with Rosenthal for the closing nod to Tommy Flanagan with "The Cup Bearers."

On the numbers interspersed between the openers, the finale and the two tracks with the Ueda-Davis partnering, Rosenthal, Wind and Horner further illustrate what constitutes individual and collective mastery. There's a clear wink and wit behind the back-to-back coupling of "Everything Happens to Me" and "It Could Happen to You," with the former receiving a lovely bossa nova treatment and the latter transitioning from assured solo piano to a bright-eyed swing soiree for three. "To Life" presents a trio hands-deep in musical development in place of a plain old fiddler on a roof. And "Lover Man" offers a luxuriant late-night atmosphere where sophistication and smoke both mingle and linger. Trio playing today doesn't get any better than this, and High Standards, while furthering Rosenthal's already-sterling reputation, brings sky high expectations for the forthcoming albums.