Pianist Noah Haidu Resurrects Classic Jazz ‘Standards’ Trio of 40 Years Ago

Written By Mike Greenblatt

PHOTO: Noah Haidu by Chris Drukker

In 1983, iconic jazz musicians Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette made `The Great American Songbook’ cool again with their brilliant Standards, Vol. 1. It changed Noah Haidu’s life. The New Brunswick Rutgers student went on to form his own trios but always with Jarrett in mind. Heavily influenced by the 78-year old genius of the keys with over 80 albums, Haidu professed his love on 2021’s SLOWLY: Song For Keith Jarrett. Now comes his own Standards (Sunnyside Records), a quintet date where his band digs up, dusts off and makes long-dead overcooked chestnuts like “Skylark” (1941), “I Thought About You” (1939), “All The Way” (1957) and “Just In Time” (1956) eminently listenable again.

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Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

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