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The New Standards

What are The New Standards about?

They are about Music, about Town, about Play, about soul, about fun...

Started in 2005 as an off-shoot project between Minneapolis based musicians and friends Chan Poling (piano), Steve Roehm (vibes) and John Munson (bass), TNS has grown into a globe-spanning adventure, filling theaters and clubs around the world, spawning several CDs, videos, cartoons, dance/theater projects, and ancillary gewgaws that have charmed and delighted an ever-multiplying legion of faithful fans.

The three core members of The New Standards all come from illustrious Twin Cities bands. Chan Poling founded the seminal Punk/New Wave band The Suburbs. John Munson was an original member of Trip Shakespeare and the chart-topping Semisonic. And Steve Roehm started on drums in the Texas punk outfit Billygoat and the avant-jazz Electropolis.

All three are fans of great songwriting. Sensing a lack of an interesting jazz trio repertoire beyond the usual “old standards”, they got together originally to play and sing their favorite songs – from every era, particularly post 1960’s pop music - in a stripped-down acoustic setting, making room for solos and arrangements with the freedom of jazz, and yet never fully abandoning the modest soul of pop and rock.

Another thing: though you may associate an acoustic tango version of Brittany Spears “Toxic” with camp, TNS is not a lounge or novelty act. One listen to their music and you realize that they take their music making as well as their jobs as entertainers seriously.

And yet, they are very funny.

The New Standards appear as a trio in intimate clubs like City Winery in NYC and The Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, and also as the ringmasters of a widening array of talented musicians and guest artists in larger settings such as their popular Holiday Shows and dance-crazy extravaganza Variety shows.

Whatever your favorite incarnation of TNS, don’t miss them when next they come to your town.

Carl Saunders: New Standards

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
January 15, 2020

Carl Saunders is one of jazz's best-kept secrets, and he kind of likes it that way. Born in 1942, Saunders is a trumpeter, composer and educator of the highest order who has worked with a long list of jazz giants, from Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson. Many factors set Saunders apart, including his skills as a player-composer, his warm tone and his exquisite taste. Even more significant is his vast catalog of original compositions ...
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Video / DVD

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Old and New Standards from John Pizzarelli

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
November 11, 2012

Once again, this week we're taking a look at some fresh video footage of a musician very familiar to St. Louis fans. That's guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli, who's coming back at the end of the month to perform Wednesday, November 28 through Saturday, December 1 at Jazz at the Bistro. Pizzarelli, the son of jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, has played St. Louis numerous times in recent years, appearing previously at the Sheldon ...
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Festival

Jazzascona Festival 2010 Focuses on New Standards

Source: Michael Ricci
April 10, 2010

JazzAscona - taking place in Ascona, Switzerland, from June 24 to July 4, 2010 - stands out for its unique program and is today one of the major world events devoted to historical styles of jazz-an eleven-day multi-faceted musical marathon, but also an opportunity to vacation and relax in the grandiose Lake Maggiore setting, just south of the Swiss Alps.

The theme of the 26th edition is New Standards, updating an extraordinary, often-forgotten collection of jazz classics. New compositions, led ...
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Radio

Susan Werner Sets "New Standards" with Marian McPartland on NPR

Source: All About Jazz
November 18, 2005

SUSAN WERNER Sets New Standards with Marian McPartland on NPR's Piano Jazz

Special Guest Performance to Air Week of Nov. 29 in National Syndication

“Werner has begun to turn heads among jazz and classic pop aficionados...Who is this woman who writes so cogently and with such flirtatious wordplay?" - Boston Herald

“Delightfully crafty and concise tunes that place classic pop mood-making in a contemporary light. In fact, if Bennett and k.d. lang ever collaborate in the studio again, ...
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Performance / Tour

Susan Werner Sets "New Standards" on Fall Tour

Source: All About Jazz
October 13, 2004

"On its self-titled debut, jazz trio the New Standards takes pop and rock tunes, such as "All the Young Dudes," "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "The New Pollution," then strips them down and juices them back up with vocals, piano, bass and totally cool vibes. It's a bit quirky, but it works." THE NEW YORK POST

"The New Standards holiday show at the Fitzgerald Theater is richer, nuttier and undebatably more satisfying than Aunt Martha’s fruitcake. With an emphasis on the nuttier." - MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

"What a terrific combo. Everything they do is a surprise." -GREIL MARCUS

"The New Standards are making waves..." NPR