If there’s a downside to the new versions of Great American Songbook tunes released by singers and jazz instrumentalists each year, it’s the shared sense that the songs themselves are hallowed. Untouchable. As though anyone covering “Laura” or “Body and Soul” signed a non-aggression pact, vowing to tread lightly through the essential elements of the songs.

What transpires on StandArt, Tigran Hamasyan’s first collection of songs associated with the Great American Songbook, is something entirely different. The enduring familiar melodies of “Laura” and the jam-session warhorse “All the Things You Are” are there, rendered with great spirit. But just about every other facet of the music undergoes vivid, sometimes startling reimagining.

“Armenian-born, US-resident Tigran Hamasyan is a pianist and composer of rare distinction.” - Jazzwise

“Hamasyan is shining his own unique light on his homeland's ancient traditions.” - NPR