This EP, Spoken Standards, is our offering to you. It will be available for free, but if you feel moved to contribute, any donations will be sent directly to the incredible non-profit EMERGENCY, which provides medical care to victims of war and poverty. We’re honored to support their life-saving work in any way we can.

Inspired by the warmth and openness of the SUNY Oneonta community, this EP pairs four jazz standards by Monk and Ellington with the poetic power of Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, and others. Together, they create an intimate tapestry of sound and story—a reflection of our residency’s journey, of the resilience that rises in response to sorrow, and of the artistry that connects us all. We hope you hear, as we did, a call for unity, beauty, and joy.

Recorded on SUNY Oneonta’s Steinway Model D during a residency marked by conversations and kindness, this album carries forward the voices of the past in a celebration of human resilience. We offer it as our thanks to a community that opened its doors—and its hearts—to us.