Bill Charlap

The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern functions as something of an answer to its predecessor, Cheek to Cheek. That 2014 duet album with Lady Gaga was suitably brassy and snazzy, relying on well-loved standards and pizzazz – the kind of thing designed to stoke nostalgia vibes – but The Silver Lining is a purer jazz record, an intimate songbook collaboration with pianist Bill Charlap; the difference can be heard simply in comparing the versions of "I Won't Dance" that pop up on the two albums – the Gaga swings boldly, the Charlap rendition carries a wry resignation. Songbooks have been a standard item for Bennett throughout the years but if The Silver Lining recalls any specific album in the vocalist's discography, it's The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album, a record released in 1975 when Bennett dropped off the major-label radar and his name was perhaps as well-known to record buyers as that of Evans.

As a unit, this must be one of the best piano trios ever, and certainly as instantly recognisable as any of its great predecessors. Charlap’s touch on the keyboard is light, almost stealthy, even when playing full chords, but always firm, clear and beautifully articulated. With the spirited support of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington (famously unrelated), the total effect is just perfect. As always, Charlap’s playing provides convincing proof that it is still possible to create fresh but pertinent treatments of well-known standard songs. The son of a songwriter and a singer, he has an instinctive feel for the idiom. His versions here of I’ll Remember April and A Sleepin’ Bee are masterly.

Pianist Bill Charlap returns to Blue Note with Street of Dreams, a stunning new album featuring his revered longstanding trio with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. Street of Dreams is a celebration of New York City as it emerges from an unprecedentedly challenging period, as reflected in the eight impeccably curated songs on the album, a delightful mix of jazz classics and Songbook favorites. It’s also a reflection of the literal and metaphorical road traveled together by Charlap and the Washingtons during nearly 25 years as a trio. During that time they’ve become so deeply attuned that on Street of Dreams they seem to breathe as one, whether setting off into rollicking swing or fragile balladry. The album is thus a celebration of these three eloquent voices reconvening, so it’s apt that this homecoming takes place on Blue Note, which released so many of the trio’s acclaimed recordings throughout the first decade of this millennium including Written In The Stars, Stardust, Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein, and Live at the Village Vanguard.

This trio outing by pianist Bill Charlap (with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington) is a superior modern mainstream set. Charlap's boppish yet melodic style (which is championed by George Shearing in the liner notes) is pleasing, swinging and just unpredictable enough to hold one's interest. He mostly performs lesser-known standards such as Vernon Duke's "Roundabout," Irving Berlin's "The Best Thing For You Would Be Me" and the Rodgers and Hart classic "Nobody's Heart." An enjoyable outing.

It is no exaggeration to say that saxophonist Jon Gordon and pianist Bill Charlap are two of the finest musicians of their generation; both have a strong link to Phil Woods - Gordon studied with the alto sax master and has recorded with him, while Charlap began serving as Woods' regular pianist. The final connection is that Woods produced the sessions that resulted in this outstanding collection of duets. The two musicians have played together frequently since attending the same high school, and their familiarity with one another helps each of them in anticipating where the other is likely to go. Although Gordon is best known for his work on alto sax (he won the Thelonious Monk alto sax competition) he begins on soprano sax for a sterling interpretation of "Stardust"…

This is the sort of album that gives the mainstream a good name. It's wonderfully recorded, especially at the low end of the spectrum: Peter Washington's bass and Kenny Washington's kick drum speak with authority yet never overwhelm Charlap's piano. The trio's approach is distinctive, marked by tight and fairly elaborate arrangements, thrilling shifts in tempo, and wholly surprising modulations and harmonic choices on Charlap's part. The overall classicism of the group's sound recalls Tommy Flanagan. Charlap is at his most animated on the opener, a brisk reading of Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night." He's more laid-back and deliberate on midtempo tracks like Johnny Mercer's "Dream" and the Gershwins' "Lorelei," where the Washingtons' bone-deep sense of swing really comes to the fore…

Bill Charlap attracted the attention of Phil Woods during a 1994 jazz cruise, so it's no surprise that the veteran saxophonist snapped him up the second there was a vacancy on the piano bench in his quintet. This trio session, with bassist Sean Smith and drummer Bill Stewart, gives one a great opportunity to hear the inventiveness, passion, and intense ability to swing that makes Charlap one of the top musicians of his generation. The program is a cut above the usual play list, starting with two brilliant interpretations of standards, including a dancing "While We're Young" and an introspective "Last Night When We Were Young." Jim Hall's "Bon Ami" is not one of his better-known works, but Charlap's crisp approach to this soft speaking tune should grab anyone's attention…

Best known for his work with Gerry Mulligan and later Phil Woods during the 1990s, pianist Bill Charlap was clearly developing rapidly on his own record dates. Beginning with a crisp rendition of "Time After Time," Charlap, with a formidable rhythm section of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, explores a nice mix of standards and jazz classics. His refreshing approach to "Lover" initially adds a Latin rhythm to the sprightly waltz before launching into overdrive. The less familiar material, including a jaunty take of George & Ira Gershwin's "Boy, What Love Has Done to Me" and a breathtaking solo interpretation of Jimmy Van Heusen's dreamy ballad "Only the Lonely," is equally rewarding. The sound on this studio date is so intimate that it sounds as if the listener is sitting right next to the piano.