David Lord is a musician whose journey began in Wichita, KS where he began music lessons, first on piano, at a young age. Eventually switching to guitar, following in the footsteps of his father, he has been carving out a niche for himself ever since as a composer and guitarist in a language all his own.

In high school, Lord played with rock and jazz groups and later learning music theory at university. He was also forced, as he put it, to study classical guitar, which he now attributes to the development of his sound. His first band, Solagget, linked his work in these different genres. While on tour with the band in 2025, Lord met Chris Schlarb, also a guitarist and composer. The two musicians met up in Wichita years later and began working on a year’s long project together, with Schlarb producing Lord, bassist Devin Hoff, drummer Chad Taylor, and vibraphonist Sam Hake in his Big Ego studio. Though the personnel shifted throughout the project, Taylor was a mainstay throughout.

Lord’s four part opus, Forest Standards, is now complete with Volume 4’s release in December 2024. The series has been well-regarded by critics. Troy Dostert, writing about Volume 2 in All About Jazz, aptly notes, “Lord's style doesn't overwhelm the listener, but rather insinuates itself.”

Choosing Volume 4 for Bandcamp’s best jazz releases column, Dave Sumner lauds the “meandering pieces that retain a tight, in-the-moment focus—experimental music as strange as it is beautiful, and hints at reworkings of something very old and lost to time.”