Jazz Articles about Bill Charlap

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Bill Charlap Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard

by Jim Santella
June 12, 2007

Recorded in September 2003, this program includes several standards, giving a sense of familiarity to its essence. Pianist Bill Charlap enjoys a mellow groove. He squeezes the melody out of the piano as if it were coming from a rose petal. Nothing stands in his way as he sends each lyrical theme on its way. With bass and drums supplying his rhythmic foundation, the pianist moves gracefully over each selection with class.

For the most part, Charlap keeps ...

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Bill Charlap Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard

by J Hunter
June 5, 2007

Bill Charlap is a tremendous player in concert. He leans into a solo like a sailor tacking into the wind during a Pacific gale; his hands can disappear into a blur, and they can touch the keys with a delicacy usually reserved for surgeons and safecrackers. Regardless of approach, the results are usually breathtaking, making Charlap's first live recording, Live at the Village Vanguard, such an exciting event.

This show happened during the legendary club's 70th anniversary celebration ...

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Aa.Vv.: Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 26, 2007

Strettissimo collaboratore di Duke Ellington per quasi trent’anni, Billy Strayhorn è uno dei grandi autori della storia del jazz. Basta scorrere i titoli dei brani contenuti in questo album per rinfrescarsi la memoria. Oggi, a quarant’anni dalla sua scomparsa, l’etichetta Blue Note pubblica questo CD, nel quale alcune delle sue più famose composizioni vengono interpretate da un nucleo di artisti davvero impressionante. Al di là del singolo brano, o della declinazione che ad esso viene attribuita dai singoli musicisti, quello ...

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Tony Bennett: Duets: An American Classic

by Ernest Barteldes
November 12, 2006

Tony Bennett, a Queens-born singer, celebrates his 80th with his voice sounding as great as it has been for years; on Duets, he revisits some of his classics with a group of friends and admirers.

Some of the guest appearances on these tracks are not really surprising, like Barbra Streisand's on “Smile." Celine Dion is one of those singers who suffers from bad choices in her own repertoire, but when given the opportunity to tackle a great song, she does ...

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Bill Charlap: Plays George Gershwin: The American Soul

by Jim Santella
July 4, 2005

With a crisp attack and seamless, lyrical phrasing, pianist Bill Charlap interprets this collection of ten Gershwin songs with authority. His septet allows plenty of room for each artist to speak his piece throughout, each soloing along individual lines.

Frank Wess is featured on “How Long Has This Been Going On?," which exhibits his slow and natural charm with a ballad. His warm and dry interpretation nestles into a cozy nook for a brief respite.

Phil ...

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Bill Charlap: Plays George Gershwin: The American Soul

by Paul Olson
June 28, 2005

Pianist Bill Charlap continues his inexorable climb up the top-tier, big-time jazz mountain with Plays George Gershwin, his first release since last year's Somewhere: the Songs of Leonard Bernstein. Here this quintessentially New York pianist covers another quintessentially New York composer--in this case, one so frequently covered by jazz musicians that one wonders whether Charlap and his longstanding trio of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington can find anything new in Gershwin's music.But they can. And while ...

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Bill Charlap: Plays George Gershwin: The American Soul

by Mark F. Turner
June 27, 2005

Pianist Bill Charlap continues to mine precious gems from the American songbook on this release dedicated to the music of lauded songwriter and composer George Gershwin. A lyrical pianist in his own right with a clear penchant for classic swing in a modern context, Charlap has an affinity with songs from yesterday (both of his parents were involved in Broadway).

The American Soul is the followup to 2004's Somewhere: The Songs Of Leonard Bernstein, and it ups the ante with ...