Description
I’ve said it already, and repeatedly, but despite having been obliged to learn a hefty number of standards as an undergraduate, I never really felt I wanted to perform them very much. Browne – Haywood – Stevens featured some standard repertoire, American songs and jazz tunes, but most of its book was written by me, and I always wanted to be contributing original ideas. I can’t remember playing a single standard tune with my current trio. The problem is really with precedent; some musicians have made this such a large part of their life’s work that it feels a bit like the standard rep is taken care of.
But then something happened. A couple of years ago I decided to share some music online because everyone was locked down and miserable and it seemed like the next best thing to actually getting together. I made almost daily contributions, shared them on socials, and I wrote about them on my website, listing the pieces I’d performed and giving a breakdown for standard/original/traditional/classical. There were tons of standards, and as I re-engaged with them I was able to see again what great songs they are, and how worthy they remain of attention.
