Noah Haidu

Standards III

Infinite Distances

We might as well make this a trifecta, having covered pianist Noah Haidu’s first two trio albums with Buster Williams and Billy Hart on these pages. While the first two appeared on Sunnyside, this is on Infinite Sounds. Haidu mixes it up more on this outing, recording in three different studios and introducing a new trio in addition to his mainstays, resulting in a mixed bag.  The new team is bassist Gervis Myles and drummer Charles Goold. The track “Slipstream,” one of three originals, features bassist Peter Washington, altoist Steve Wilson, and drummer Lewis Nash. That’s a lot of names for a piano trio album, but for the most part, the two trios alternate on tracks. It’s interesting to view Haidu’s touring schedule because Myles and Goold are typically his touring unit. There is a date at Catalina in Hollywood with Buster Williams and Lenny White. Nasheet Waits is the drummer on the European dates.

Haidu’s clear, mostly gentle but ever-vibrant touch is applied to Jerome Kern’s Yesterdays,” Rodgers and Hart’s “Lover,” Arthur Schwartz’s “Alone Together,” the Roan/Nigro/St. Jean “Casual” and Sammy Cahn’s “Teach Me Tonight” with the new trio. Williams and Hart are aboard for Ellington’s “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be,” Thad Jones’ “A Child Is Born,” Willard Robison’s “Old Folks,” and the Haidu originals “Stevie W.” and “Tonight…Teach…Me,” a short intro into “Teach Me Tonight.”

While some outlets are proclaiming (presumably) the Haidu/Williams/Hart trio as “the best performing today,” I would consider them a close second to the enduring trio of Bill Charlap/Peter Washington/Kenny Washington. To be in the same conversation is a major achievement in any case. Trio aficionados will enjoy hearing the differences between Haidu’s emerging talented trio mates versus the veterans, Williams and Hart. One clear difference is that the new trio treats the material much like Keith Jarrett or Bill Evans, with Haidu’s bluesy bent on solos and his intricate improvisations. The Williams and Hart team enables Haidu to be more abstract on “A Child Is Born,” but falls victim to tunes that don’t fit that well with the traditional standards. “Slipstream,” revisited here from his debut recording 2011, has superb playing from Wilson soaring over the trio. “Casual” from Chappell Roan breathes too much pop rather than jazz, as does “Stevie W.,” a nod to Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” a pretty tune but the inclusion of which wiil make piano trio purists wince.

Myles shows promise as a bassist with his intro to “Old Folks” and the inventive bass line in “Alone Together.” Goold is also solid throughout. Yet, the patchwork quality of this effort has it falling short to Haidu’s first two ‘Standards” albums. Nonetheless, Haidu should aim for a fourth with his new trio playing consistently.

• Jim Hynes

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