Definitely some Rollins and more than a little Joe Henderson; along with his own thing, of course. I remember the first couple of times I heard Lovano. It was back in the 80s when he was in the section in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra (previously the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis big band and currently The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). You know, I wasn’t that impressed by his playing. It was mostly me, and because I was too preoccupied with the post-Coltrane type tenor sound (think Liebman, Grossman and Berg...thanks, acman3) and I couldn’t get next to Joe’s warmer and less edgy sound which is partly a result of his preference for vintage Conn tenors as opposed to the ubiquitous Selmer horns of the Coltrane crowd. His concept has developed a great deal and I am loving what he does.
Been thinking about your question re tunes by current artists that should be standards. Here’s a few that came to mind that I think could be candidates based on the criteria that I mentioned. They at least lend themselves to be played in a jazz style. Most tunes have been around for several years and a couple have been done that way already, so time will tell. Tunes penned by current jazz players are harder to consider since not enough time has passed; although current players do borrow each other’s tunes; Again, time will tell.
NY State Of Mind (Billy Joel)
Black Cow (Steely Dan)
Maxine (Steely Dan)
I Love You Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Help Me (Joni Mitchell)
Been thinking about your question re tunes by current artists that should be standards. Here’s a few that came to mind that I think could be candidates based on the criteria that I mentioned. They at least lend themselves to be played in a jazz style. Most tunes have been around for several years and a couple have been done that way already, so time will tell. Tunes penned by current jazz players are harder to consider since not enough time has passed; although current players do borrow each other’s tunes; Again, time will tell.
NY State Of Mind (Billy Joel)
Black Cow (Steely Dan)
Maxine (Steely Dan)
I Love You Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
Help Me (Joni Mitchell)