Yotam Silberstein: Standards Vol. 2

On Standards Vol. 2 , guitarist Yotam Silberstein revisits the tradition with both reverence and invention, delivering a program of what he calls "lesser gems" -standards that have slipped through the cracks of overexposure yet hold depths still to be mined. With a lineup featuring bassist John Patitucci, drummer Billy Hart, and special guest tenor saxophonist George Coleman on one track, this album offers a thoughtful, rich journey into the overlooked corners of the jazz canon.

The album opens with "Blue Gardenia," a torch song written by Lester Lee and Bob Russell for the 1953 movie The Blue Gardenia, which was recorded by Nat King Cole for Capitol Records in the same year. The group treats the melody with a gentle, chamber-like sensibility. Silberstein's playing is lyrical, patient, and filled with understated emotion, never rushing the tune's delicate architecture. In addition to his big tone solo, Patitucci lays down a lush harmonic floor, while Hart works his drum kit with relaxed elegance, allowing space to breathe. Coleman joins on "Tenor Madness," bringing his unmistakable Memphis burnish to this Sonny Rollins vehicle. At age 90, Coleman's sound still cuts with authority, although his former over-the-top runs are now shortened. Silberstein's solo veers between blues phrasing and bebop angularity, while Hart, a former Rollins sideman, knows how to build tension without overpowering the front line.

The inclusion of " Answer Me My Love" —a tune rarely touched by jazz instrumentalists—is emblematic of Silberstein's curatorial acumen. Here, he strips the tune to its emotional core. His introduction echoes the intimacy of a solo guitar recital before the rhythm section gently joins to give the ballad a late-night glow. The Sonny Red composition "Bluesville" is a soulful jaunt, swung hard and lean. Silberstein sets the tone with a crisp blues-drenched statement that pays homage to Grant Green's economy of expression. The delight here is the solo conversations offered by Patitucci and Hart. Patitucci delivers a masterclass in bebop bass articulation for the former: deeply rooted, harmonically imaginative, and rhythmically adventurous. Hart offers subtly shifting techniques with cymbal splashes, feathered snare hits and tension and release built around snare and tom phrasing in an elegant distillation of the post-bop vocabulary. Victor Young's "Delilah," best known from Clifford Brown's rendition, receives a deeply imaginative treatment. Silberstein begins with a modal vamp that hints at the compositional biblical overtones. His phrasing is full of intricate rhythmic placement, inflected by an Eastern melodic sensibility. Patitucci and Hart move the piece forward with a loose-limbed polyrhythmic undercurrent that keeps the mood swirling and elastic.

The closing track is "The Girl Next Door," an underappreciated ballad that Frank Sinatra recorded in 1954 for Capitol Records and his album Songs For Young Lovers. In Silberstein's hands, the tune is delivered in a delicate, slightly melancholic manner and serves as a final reflection, a kind of musical exhalation after the rhythmic and harmonic intensity of some of the earlier tracks. Silberstein renders the melody with great care, and the band understands that the tune's great strength lies in restraint. This is an album in which Silberstein believes that the standard repertoire still holds secrets worth uncovering.