Bill Charlap Trio at Jazz, TX

Bill Charlap Trio
Jazz, TX
San Antonio, Texas
November 14, 2023

Back in March 2020, the Bill Charlap Trio featuring Peter Washington and Kenny Washington was the last act hosted by Jazz, TX before the pandemic shut everything down. They made a deep impression, and—nearly four years later—the club was excited to welcome them back, as was the capacity crowd. The trio opened, appropriately, with Kenny Barron's "And Then Again," a fast bebop blues that had them in hyperdrive from note one. What Charlap once remarked about the way jazz greats tend to work in the studio was true of his own group that evening: "It's the same for any of the giants. They give everything, right away" (The Paul Leslie Hour, January 2021).

The band gave at the highest level all night. In two sets, twenty-one pieces, they played songs of Duke Ellington, Vernon Duke, Hoagy Carmichael, Jerome Kern, Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Dave Brubeck, Jimmy Van Heusen, Dizzy Gillespie, and their ilk; Great American Songbook, mainstream jazz. (YouTube, bottom of page, gives an idea.) The early show offered three tunes from the Ellington book, including Juan Tizol's "Caravan." Charlap's trio employed Tommy Flanagan's arrangement, from his Jazz Poet album (Timeless Records, 1989, with Kenny Washington on drums). They leapt onto the Ellington vehicle, interacting in the moment—at full throttle—with all its layers, everything in their memories and imaginations, the vibe in the room, all of it. The burning tempo and rail metaphor energized the audience. The trio threw sparks as they blazed through, tearing after the tune, audience in tow. Jazz fans love a high-speed chase, and this turned out to be only one of several burners that evening ("Segment," "All Through the Night," "Tea for Two," among others).

The depth of artistry on the bandstand was astounding, their knowledge and craft, their preternatural musical communication, the beauty of the collective sound they have developed over the past quarter century. What's more—as those who follow the band are aware—it is likely to be even better next time. Along with lesser-known gems, they dug into tunes they all learned coming up and have played for decades, titles that are in the collective jazz consciousness. Working with such a vast shared mental library of compositions and arrangements, sets needn't require much pre-planning. In a corner just inside the piano, Charlap placed his set list, a sheet of paper half the size of a mobile phone, filled on both sides with single-word titles. Mainly, however, he listened to the room and went with what resonated.

The sound of the band was phenomenal. On a borrowed bass, Peter Washington played with ease at high velocity, immaculate intonation at any speed, and legato notes that seemed to ring beyond the normal decay. In a rare interview with bassist Todd Coolman, he talked a bit about that, citing Doug Watkins as a major influence, Watkins' "soft touch," intonation, notes that would "bloom like a rose" (Cool Toddcast Episode 52 -Rare Insights from First Call New York City Bassist Peter Washington, March 2022).

Kenny Washington "orchestrates" the music, as Charlap likes to say. From Washington's perspective, "If a drummer can't sing the arrangements, the band is finished" ("Kenny Washington on Melodic Drumming," Four on the Floor, March 2020). Washington learned "by association," listening to recordings of the greats, singing all the parts, learning the chord changes and lyrics. In a group context, he brings an orchestrator's understandings to bear as an improviser by constantly mixing his timbres and articulations, voicing the drums so as not to, as he put it, "strangle the changes" or "swallow the melody," enhancing certain frequencies he hears in piano and bass, attenuating others.

With his expressive technique, improvisational prowess, sly humor, deep insights, and ability to frame the music in multiple ways on the fly, Charlap is a consummate jazz pianist and band leader. He sees the group as a collaborative, accepting his role as nominal leader but asserting that the creative division is "33 and 1/3," just like the rpm of a vinyl LP. Fair enough.

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