Bill Charlap Trio: Notes From New York (Impulse!)
In Thad Jones’s “Little Rascal On A Rock,” pianist Charlap, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington summon up the dynamics of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis big band’s 1976 debut recording of the piece. Their twenty years together have given them sensitivity to one another that allows the strength and subtlety needed for such a feat. Charlap and the Washingtons are masters of a kind of jazz piano trio playing that recalls Ahmad Jamal, Hank Jones and George Shearing at their peaks. With jazz often stuck in place or flailing around, it is encouraging that this trio has high exposure and acceptance. Charlap includes welcome rediscoveries of neglected songs by Harry Warren, Harold Arlen and Burton Lane; a joyous Tiny Grimes blues; and what may be the world’s slowest, most endearing solo piano version of “On The Sunny Side Of The Street.”
In Thad Jones’s “Little Rascal On A Rock,” pianist Charlap, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington summon up the dynamics of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis big band’s 1976 debut recording of the piece. Their twenty years together have given them sensitivity to one another that allows the strength and subtlety needed for such a feat. Charlap and the Washingtons are masters of a kind of jazz piano trio playing that recalls Ahmad Jamal, Hank Jones and George Shearing at their peaks. With jazz often stuck in place or flailing around, it is encouraging that this trio has high exposure and acceptance. Charlap includes welcome rediscoveries of neglected songs by Harry Warren, Harold Arlen and Burton Lane; a joyous Tiny Grimes blues; and what may be the world’s slowest, most endearing solo piano version of “On The Sunny Side Of The Street.”
