Standard songs, especially jazz standards by my favorite composers-Tadd Dameron, Billy Strayhorn, Horace Silver, Benny Golson, and others-possess a timeless quality that is instantly memorable and beautifully constructed, both melodically and harmonically. I've been learning this craft since I was a teenager, playing through the songs of Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck. Whenever a melodic inspiration came to me, usually sparked by something that moved me, I used these masters as my models-and I still do. The songs on this album, spanning some 40 years, have been recorded in various contexts before, but this time I wanted to present them in the classic jazz format of a sextet. Together, the group spans three generations, a testament to the enduring power, seriousness of purpose, and timeless feeling of this music we love.

• Genre: Jazz
• Label: SAVANT