1. “I've Never Been In Love Before”
    This has always been one of my personal favorites. On this rendition Jerry states the melody beautifully, really singing each phrase. Renato follows with a nice understated solo over Tom's swinging brushes, after which he then switches to sticks and Jerry fires off a great solo that just keeps building. We basically stick to the regular changes which are a great vehicle for blowing.

2. “I Remember You”
    This is the first of three radical reharms done by Jerry for this project. In this particular revision both the changes and melody are altered. The A sections of the tune move through three key centers Ab, C and E which outline an augmented triad . The B section moves down in minor thirds (Db, F, D, B) and the final section stays in Ab most of the way before finally going back to C for a few bars.

3. “Witchcraft”
    This tune is pulled from the pages of the Frank Sinatra songbook but with alliances closer to 60's Wayne Shorter. The reharm and vibe on this really conjure up a great eerie atmosphere which is present throughout the entire take.

4. “All of You”
    Our third “New Standard” has a couple of striking key changes that really set it apart from the original. The first four bars of the tune keep the original melody but the changes move from E to Eb then G to Gb. We also inserted a built in 16 bar Tag/Interlude thats starts off normal enough but in the 9th bar moves in Major thirds, Fmin, Amin, Dbmin and Amin. Renato takes one of his best solos of the date on this one.

5. “How About You”
    Here’s another great old tune which is seldom played. We stay close to the original harmony with some slight deviations. Jerry states the melody with a nod to Dexter then it is off and swinging with Tom setting up each soloist perfectly.

6. “Let's Pretend”
    This is the only original in the set and is included because basically we had so much fun performing it live we gave it a go in the studio. It's a modified blues with a couple of harmonic twists.

7. “Too Marvelous For Words”
    Tom sets this one up with a loping latin feel that takes us south of the border to Carnival where we stay for the rest of the tune.

8. “The Best Thing For You”
    This tune is often associated with Art Farmer. Here it is performed as a medium up swinger, a perfect closer with solos all around.     Dave Santoro     Special thanks to Danielle Mailer and Jennifer Kallgren.

    Jerry and I have a long history of playing Standards. The term “New Standard” is really our take on the time-honored tradition of borrowing songs from the great American songbook and restructuring them, either by extending the forms or changing the harmonies and melodies. The whole process is pretty organic; usually we are trying to establish a certain mood or feel, and each tune presents its own unique possibilities. What we are doing is just an extension of what jazz musicians have been doing for the past 50 years. Many of our ideas emerge while we’re playing together on the bandstand, and we’re just having fun with our new takes on these tunes.
    Jerry’s a musicians’ musician, and is simply one of the greatest post-Coltrane originals, a tenor titan whose sophisticated style is at once earthy and heroic. Besides leading his own band, Jerry has played with Roy Haynes, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Michael Brecker and Mulgrew Miller. He is a highly respected educator and the author of 5 improv books published by Advance Music.
    Renato was the pianist for Jon Hendricks for some time. He’s from Slovenia, and splits his time between New York and Verona, Italy. He’s played with all of us in various combinations since the early-1990’s. He attended Berklee on a scholarship in the early-1980’s before moving to New York, where he’s established himself as one of the best accompanists & soloists.

    Santoro’s resume reads like a “who’s who” of contemporary jazz. He’s played with the likes of Tom Harrell, John Scofield, Pepper Adams, Clark Terry, Dave Liebman, Bob Brookmeyer, Bob Berg, Red Rodney, Mike Stern and Brad Mehldau. Here we see him lead his own band playing great standards in a totally new light.

    Originally from Rochester and then moving to Brooklyn, NY where he established himself as a mainstay for power groups led by tenormen Steve Grossman, Ken Peplowski and Lew Tabackin. Tom has also played Herb Ellis, Etta Jones, Walter Bishop Jr., Harry Sweets Eddison and Bill Watrous.