Available Now:
Grammy® Award-Winner Bill Charlap Debuts
on impulse! Records with Notes From New York
on impulse! Records with Notes From New York
Album Features Celebrated Longstanding Trio
Featuring Kenny Washington and Peter Washington
Featuring Kenny Washington and Peter Washington
"I adore Bill so much. He's a brilliant pianist in the tradition of people I admire most.
The beautiful story of the songs he plays always comes through and, with or
without words; Bill always reaches you from a very deep and emotionally
direct place. He's a true emotional genius." - Diana Krall
The beautiful story of the songs he plays always comes through and, with or
without words; Bill always reaches you from a very deep and emotionally
direct place. He's a true emotional genius." - Diana Krall
"The Bill Charlap Trio. It don't get no better than that." - Johnny Mandel
"Bill Charlap's playing is unique, warm and intelligent. He not only plays
the melody - he also plays the lyric. And, for lyric writers, that's as
good as it gets." - Alan & Marilyn Bergman
the melody - he also plays the lyric. And, for lyric writers, that's as
good as it gets." - Alan & Marilyn Bergman
Playing
a melody is an art in itself, one that necessitates experience,
intuition and humility. In the jazz capitol of the world, New York City,
Bill Charlap is considered one of the great interpreters of
melodies, songs written for musicals, and Broadway shows or films that
when moved from their original source, become the standards that jazz
artists make their own.
For his debut impulse! recording, Notes From New York,
Charlap has defined and refined his position in the pantheon of New
York piano stylists, whose highly influential jazz piano icons include
Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, and Jimmy Rowles. Tony Bennett, with whom
Charlap has recently collaborated with on the Grammy® Award-winning
album The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, effuses
further that "in the tradition of Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, George
Shearing, Count Basie and Duke Ellington--Bill Charlap joins them as one
of the greatest American musicians of our time."
Charlap
has hundreds of songs at his fingertips and he does justice to each
one. He is capable of highlighting the subtlety of a phrase, mining the
depth of a harmony, while allowing the meaning of the lyric to come
through, even in an instrumental context. His touch has a rare elegance,
and in this respect he is one of the heirs to a jazz piano tradition
whose essential figures include the aforementioned, Jones, Flanagan and
Shirley Horn--whom Charlap has known personally--as well as Teddy
Wilson, Art Tatum, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans and Sonny Clark.
The nine tracks of Notes from New York present the longstanding Bill Charlap Trio (featuring Kenny Washingon and Peter Washington)
in peak performance, recorded immediately following a two-week run at
Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. The opener is the
familiar "I'll Remember April," featuring the spirited brushwork of
Kenny Washington, and the closer is a transcendent, solo ballad
interpretation of the well-known, "On the Sunny Side of the Street."
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Photo Credit: Philippe LEVY-STAB
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The
remainder of the album is comprised of standards that are rarely
performed, some of them truly hidden treasures. For example, "Make Me
Rainbows" is from the original soundtrack of the 1967 film Fitzwilly,
which was written by John Williams a few years before he made his name
alongside Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The depth of the groove on
this track is a testament to how these three musicians swing as one.
"Not a Care in the World," written by Vernon Duke, was a staple of Bobby
Short's repertoire at the Café Carlyle. Charlap plays a dancing solo
that doubles in intensity when Kenny Washington picks up his sticks. The
sublime, "There Is No Music" develops with a poetic sense of space as
Charlap expresses a full range of tonal colors. With "A Sleepin' Bee,"
Charlap delivers a solo that is filled with humor and, it seems, all the
unpredictable character of a bumblebee in flight.
Charlap first discovered "Little Rascal on a Rock" on the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis album, New Life.
Years later, he received a copy of the piece from Thad's older brother,
Hank. On this track, the trio swings with elasticity and precision. The
most interior track of the album is the haunting "Too Late Now" by
Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner, with Peter Washington's poignant bass
solo being a highlight. Written by guitarist Tiny Grimes and made
immortal by Charlie Parker, "Tiny's Tempo," reminds us that bebop is an
integral part of the trio's musical world.
Charlap
has drawn material from the American Popular Songbook for many of his
recordings, including albums devoted to the music of George Gershwin,
Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin,
Richard Rodgers and Cole Porter. He continues to celebrate his love of
song, while leading the trio he formed in 1997, with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington.
The trio has a peerless understanding of the major figures of their
respective instruments, and the chemistry between them stands as one of
the great rhythm sections of our time. Their integrity is unwavering,
and they project an effortless virtuosity. The experience of hearing the
Bill Charlap Trio live is electrifying.
Early
in his career, Charlap was championed by two saxophone giants--Gerry
Mulligan and Phil Woods--who appreciated his talent, his assurance as an
accompanist, the finesse of his playing, and his unfailing sense of
swing. Charlap's connection to standards is in his blood: his father was
Broadway composer Moose Charlap, and his mother, Sandy Stewart, is a
Grammy® Award-nominated singer who toured with Benny Goodman.
Composers
and lyricists including Yip Harburg, Charles Strouse, and Alan and
Marilyn Bergman would often visit Charlap's family home, and yet that
context only partly explains the intimate nature of the relationship
that the pianist shares with this repertoire. Charlap also learned from
his experiences playing with such elder masters as Benny Carter, Clark
Terry, Jim Hall, Dick Hyman, Eddie Locke and Frank Wess who further
taught him how to reveal the riches that exist in this music.
From the Village Vanguard to the Café Carlyle, Bradley's, The Knickerbocker, High School for the Performing Arts, The 92nd
St Y, Lincoln Center, The Hit Factory, Nola Studios, Carnegie Hall, The
Village Gate, Town Hall, The Algonquin, and The Apollo Theatre, Bill
Charlap is the sound of his city. Notes from New York is confirmation that the Bill Charlap Trio has arrived at its destination.
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Bill Charlap - "Notes From New York"
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Bill Charlap · Notes From New York
impulse! Records · Release Date: April 1, 2016
For more information on Bill Charlap, please visit: BillCharlap.com
For media information, please contact:
DL Media · 610-667-0501
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