This is one of the most inventive versions of Thelonious Monk’s masterpiece every produced. A concept piece, it starts out in a barroom (you can hear the crowd murmuring and glasses tinkling in the background) and adeptly captures the sense of having one too many before the night’s end. The almost drunken sound of the out-of-tune saloon upright gives way first to a totally hip vibes solo and then to the adept piano playing of Mueller. But the story doesn’t stop there…soon Woody Mankowski’s driving tenor saxophone catapults the piece into a full on cascade of power with what sounds like breaking bottles accentuating each upbeat. An unexpected climax that slowly sinks back into the end-of-night stupor from where it began, as if the sudden moment of clarity has been lost forever.

“Straight, No Chaser” is the 9th track on Volume One of “Standard Deviations” (2018). Check out the entire collection. There are three tunes covered by Thelonious Monk and a slew of other jazz classics by composers ranging from Ellington to Gershwin, Hoagy Carmichael to Lennon-McCartney.

“Standard Deviations” is a 2-volume collection of the greatest Jazz Standards of all time… re-imagined. Melodies deviate one into another, styles deviate into related genres, and arrangements deviate from the standard originals creating a fresh, hip, innovative sound. Contemporary jazz musicians bind together blues, funk, fusion, smooth, new age and post-bop jazz, depending on the arrangement. 33 classics arranged into 24 tracks over 2 CDs.

Tobin Mueller Links
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