Event

High Standards

High Standards brings unique hard hitting jazz & funk back to the Sound Room for an epic night. Featuring Ryan Schaeffer, Isaac Schwartz & Ian McArdle. You won't want to miss it!

These young lions of jazz embody a forward leaning sound informed by both the traditional and modern sounds of jazz. Though strongly rooted in the tonality of the classic small group idiom, this groups voice is distinctively its own. Possessing a unique repertoire of original compositions, this band strikes a delicate balance between elaborate written arrangements and improvisatory prowess. Individually members of the ensemble have played at numerous internationally-known venues such as The Montreux Jazz Festival, The Monterey Jazz Festival, Yoshis, Nighttown, and clubs throughout China, Japan and Europe.

For this special holiday show they will perform jazz funk interpretations of Michael Jackson's album: Off the Wall. Off the Wall was hailed as a major breakthrough for Jackson, while receiving critical recognition, along with praises, from major music publications. In a 1979 review of the album, Rolling Stone magazine contributor Stephen Holden praised Jackson's maturity and transition from his early Motown material, while calling the album a "slick, sophisticated R&B-pop showcase with a definite disco slant". Holden went on to compare Jackson to Stevie Wonder, another Motown performer who began recording at a young age and gained critical acclaim for his transition.

Off the Wall was produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson.