Ari Hoenig's NY Standard series takes on the Disney waltz "Someday My Prince Will Come," a tune that entered the jazz canon through Miles Davis's 1961 recording. This 2015 rendition features Shai Maestro delivering four expansive piano choruses through the 32-bar ABAC form at a brisk waltz tempo. Maestro's solo is a masterclass in thematic development and harmonic exploration, his playing blending the lyrical sensibility of the European classical tradition with the rhythmic freedom of modern jazz. His touch is luminous and varied, moving between delicate single-note passages and lush chord voicings that reveal the composition's harmonic richness. The waltz feel, taken at a tempo exceeding 230 beats per minute, creates a sense of breathless momentum that pushes the pianist toward increasingly adventurous territory as his solo progresses. Hoenig's drumming is characteristically responsive and interactive, his brush and stick work providing a flexible rhythmic framework that supports without constraining. The duo-like intimacy of the performance, with piano and drums engaging in close musical dialogue, reflects Hoenig's belief in improvisation as conversation. This track demonstrates how familiar material can yield fresh discoveries when approached by musicians with the imagination and skill to see beyond its surface.
