The protagonists had already recorded together on Gary Peacock's Tales of Another in 1977, but Jarrett's Standards project, with its dedication to the Great American Songbook, proposed a new sphere of operation, one that would make this trio among the best-loved bands in all of jazz. This New York Power Station recording from January 1983 established the simple blueprint: honour the standards as compositions and discover where the material can lead a creative improviser. There is fabulous playing here, including a wildly inventive All The Things You Are, and heart-rending versions of Meaning of the Blues and It Never Entered My Mind.
