By: Andrea Myers
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The New Standards at the Dakota - Photo by Andrea Myers
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Ever since all the great jazz clubs in town decided to dance the relocation shuffle a couple of years ago, I have been leery about attending jazz concerts, mostly due to the sterilized feel of the new Artist’s Quarter. When I stepped into the new Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, I braced myself for the same wave of disappointment, which ended in mixed results. The club is laid out beautifully, and with its new setting on Nicollet Mall, it was filled with lots of beautiful people eating beautiful dinners and drinking expensive, beautiful wine. The main room is airy and open, with high, arching ceilings, appropriately dim lighting, a balcony overlooking the stage, and a huge black curtain that separates the concert goers from the regular diners.
The show was oversold, so when I first arrived it was standing room only and I was forced to hover in a hallway that led to the bathrooms, with no clear sightline of the stage. As a swath of middle-to-upper-class patrons sipped their chardonnay and chatted quietly, I was absorbed by the sound (if not sight) of The New Standards, who were making their way through a jazz-combo version of Rogers & Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things.” Despite my subdued resentment toward the owners of the club for overselling the show and not having the means to comfortably cater to all of its ticket-holding patrons, I was transfixed by the music, and it was unlike anything I have ever heard.
The New Standards is in every way possible a new arrangement of familiar ideas. The band members are all seasoned local performers, with Chan Poling (The Suburbs) playing grand piano, John Munson (Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare) on upright bass, and Steve Roehm (Electropolis) playing vibraphones. The songs they play are all covers, and range from 80’s hits like the Clash’s “London Calling” to old classics from the 40’s, with a Beck or Blur cover thrown in for good measure. And the style the play in is all their own, a combination of lounge-ballad jazz, classical piano, blues shuffles and a vibraphone-heavy dreamy drone.
The familiarity of the band gives them a unique edge, as their music practically demands to be heard. They take advantage of the fact that their songs are easily recognizable and use it to draw the listener in and hold them attentive as they provide their own unique interpretations and arrangements. The three players take turns improvising solos amidst the more concrete framework of the covers, projecting something truly original.
Poling and Munson trade off the lead vocal duties, and both contribute unique elements to the sound. Poling’s voice is a rich, low baritone, and was especially strong on “Love is the Law,” a cover of his own Suburbs’ tune; while Munson sounds softer and more vulnerable, like for a surprisingly emotional rendition of the Stones’ “Wild Horses.” Munson also shows off his higher range by providing dead-on harmonies to Poling, and their voices mix beautifully.
This past year, The New Standards went into the studio to lay down a set of recorded tracks, and Munson’s Semisonic band mate Dan Wilson produced the effort. The self-titled album was released in October 2005.
Location Info:
Dakota Jazz Club
Artist Info: The New Standards
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