NYSQ has been together for 8 years, as of 2013. The group has toured throughout the US, Europe and Japan, and has made four recordings, all in Japan - two live and two in the studio. The group is dedicated to honoring the tradition of the great American songbook by learning and reinterpreting, sometimes in radical ways, songs that are familiar to most lovers of jazz. The goal is to walk the tightrope between familiarity and surprise, engaging listeners in an active relationship with the band. The group seeks to play standard songs as if they were the band's original music, and in addition the repertoire occasionally includes original music which is inspired by, or based on a standard.