Noah Haidu: Standards III

Standards III, the ninth album by New York-based pianist Noah Haidu, is essentially a trio date with a guest appearance on one number ("Slipstream") by alto saxophonist Steve Wilson. As was true on Standards (Sunnyside, 2021) and Standards II (Sunnyside, 2024), the inclusion of several unfamiliar themes (including some by Haidu) stretches the meaning of "standard" well beyond what most listeners would consider acceptable.

To be fair, there are a liberal number of standards on all three recordings. This one, for example, includes Haidu and the trio's takes on Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays," Rodgers and Hart's "Lover," Willis Robison's "Old Folks" and Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz's "Alone Together," all standards by any measure. Duke Ellington's "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," Sammy Cahn's "Teach Me Tonight" and Thad Jones' "A Chid Is Born" are at least marginal, while the others (including a trio of Haidu's original compositions) would not qualify as "standards" under any definition.

Be that as it may, it is the music itself that singles out every album, and that is where any appraisal must start. Haidu and his comrades (bassist Gervis Myles and drummer Charles Goold on this and four other numbers) open with up-tempo readings of Kern's ballad "Yesterdays" and Rodgers and Hart's "Lover," each of which showcases Haidu's impressive technique and singular approach without breaking new ground. A second trio (Buster Williams, bass; Billy Hart, drums) debuts on "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," as does a third (Peter Washington, bass; Lewis Nash, drums) with Wilson on Haidu's rapid-fire "Slipstream," which was the title song on his first album. That usually indicates more than one recording date; in this case, four—which is irrelevant, as each rhythm section is splendid. One of the three sits in on every number save Haidu's discursive "Tonight..Teach...Me," on which he plays solo.

Having noted Haidu's proficiency and that of his trios, a word must be said about tempo, a basic component, as Haidu must know, in any song. Armed with that knowledge, he has chosen to play "Yesterdays" far too rapidly, "Teach Me Tonight" much too slowly. Nothing pivotal, but it does make a difference to those who believe that tempo matters. Haidu has been widely praised, and rightly so, as he is an excellent jazz pianist. Standards III, however, does not quite reach that standard.