Pianist Noah Haidu sees a certain irony in his current recorded output. “I love composing but improvisation has always been my greatest passion. When I started releasing music in 2011 I relied on my songwriting to make a unique artistic statement, but I’ve come full circle and realized that finding my own voice on a simple, unadorned standard is a rare and necessary endeavor.” Haidu embraced that endeavor on his 2023 release Standards, and on Standards II, due out April 12, 2024 on Sunnyside Records. The new album is a breathtaking masterpiece featuring Haidu with two of the music’s most esteemed players, Buster Williams on bass and Billy Hart on drums.

Kevin Tyrone Eubanks is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short-lived The Jay Leno Show.

John Hicks is heard with his working trio on what is likely his final recording, made two months to the day prior to his unexpected death. With bassist Buster Williams and drummer Louis Hayes, also seasoned veterans and bandleaders themselves, the set list for this well-recorded studio session is a hard bop lover's feast, drawing from both familiar and less frequently heard repertoire. Hicks throws quite a few curves into Gigi Gryce's "Minority" by tossing in a few vamps then getting right to business with improvising rather than bothering to offer a chorus of its theme, with Williams' fleet bassline and Hayes' brushwork powering him in full flight. The leader's sole original is a salute to Cedar Walton, an upbeat piece called "As Birds Fly (Walton's Mountain)" in which the musicians easily scale its heights. The bassist contributed two originals, including the lush, somewhat moody "Strivers Jewels" and the delicate tribute to his then-young niece "Christina." Hayes is an asset throughout the recording, particularly standing out in the powerful interpretation of Dexter Gordon's "Cheesecake".

Bassist Buster Williams contributed eight of the nine selections (all but the standard "I Thought About You") for this well-conceived set of advanced straight-ahead jazz. Williams (who had recently turned 50) teams up with vibraphonist Stefon Harris, pianist Geri Allen and drummer Lenny White. Harris is mostly the lead voice and the group does sound at times a little like the Modern Jazz Quartet, due to the identical instrumentation. Williams takes a surprisingly effective vocal on his "Why Should I Pretend" and otherwise is mostly in the background behind Harris and Allen. Due to the excellent originals, this is one of Buster Williams' strongest dates as a leader.

With 12 strings and three "background" vocalists sometimes being utilized in keyboardist Onaje Allen Gumbs' arrangements, this effort by bassist Buster Williams is often somewhat commercial. However the guest spots by pianist Kenny Barron, altoist Hank Crawford, flutist Hubert Laws and trumpeter Eddie Henderson are generally worthwhile and the material (four group originals plus "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Betcha By Golly, Wow") is stronger than expected.

Bassist Buster Williams had one of his few opportunities to lead a record session on this diverse set which has been reissued on CD (with an alternate take of "I Dream Too Much" added to the original program). Of the six selections, Williams has a duet apiece with Kenny Barron (who plays electric piano), pianist Jimmy Rowles and vibraphonist Roy Ayers ("My Funny Valentine"). Two other numbers feature the quartet of Williams, Ayers, Barron and drummer Billy Hart while the leader's original "Prism" has the quartet joined by singer Suzanne Klewan and percussionist Nobu Urushiyama. The music ranges from slightly commercial to introspective and hard swinging, and its variety (plus an opportunity to hear bassist Williams in the lead) are two good reasons for postbop jazz collectors to pick up this CD.