Notes and Musings on the Artists (full disclosure: some of the Charlap part comes from the writeup for Jazz Nights 1):

About five years ago, when one talked of pianists, time after time one heard, "But you got to hear Charlap," Of course the listening world was just catching up, Bill Charlap had been around quite a while and playing great. Since then, as expected, his career has taken off; he has regular gigs at the Village Vanguard, the Jazz Standard, and the other best places, and he has a Blue Note recording contract. Two CD's have appeared on Blue Note, "Written in the Stars," in 2000 and "Stardust," in 2002, both to appropriately excellent reviews.

Perhaps an affinity for the American popular songbook is in his blood - he is the son of Broadway composer Moose Charlap and singer Sandy Stewart, who sings from time to time at his gigs. He is a master of this genre and regularly pulls obscure but beautiful songs out of some magical hat. Besides Arlen, Kern, Porter, Rogers, the Gershwins, and the rest, one also hears the great jazz composers: Ellington, Strayhorn, and Monk of course, but also Gillespie, Gigi Gryce, and, especially Mulligan. And there is almost always something you have never heard - and after hearing it, you wonder why not. Here is what Ben Ratliff had to say, in a review of a recent evening devoted to Jimmie Heath and Joe Wilder:

"Mr. Charlap got off the most concise - and breathtaking - few minutes of the evening, in his trio's performance of Stephen Sondheim's "Uptown, Downtown." (No, I had never heard jazz musicians play that tune, either.)"

Ben Ratliff, NYT, June 19, 2003

Mr. Charlap sustains duo and trio contexts beautifully, giving lots of room to his collaborators. It's not easy to be at the front and an accompanist at the same time, but he can do it. You might listen to his duo CDs with Warren Vache (cornet/flugelhorn) or Jon Gordon (alto/soprano saxophone). I prefer the work with Gordon because I think so highly of this young altoist, but the last two tracks on the Vache CD, "Prelude to a Kiss" and "St. Louis Blues," are nothing short of brilliant. One of the things

"Mr. Chaplap demonstrated how a few notes, perfectly chosen, can carry more weight than 10 times as many dashed off in an acrobatic display." Stephen Holden NYT, June 20, 2003

I love about jazz is that it is a music that takes account of its history, and one in which historical comments can be made in real time. The technique is the quote, and quotes can be humorous, sad, or just comments that the other musicians may want to pick up on, making their own musical remarks in return. In the Ellington piece, Bill quotes early on from Monk's introduction to "Round Midnight." One can't tell at the start of the quote whether Charlap is repeating the melody or going elsewhere. There is a wonderful "aha!" when you recognize that what you suspected was to be another take on the melody is in fact something else indeed. And to juxtapose Monk and Ellington is completely appropriate, a reminder of the affinity the works of those greatest of jazz composers have. In the W. C. Handy piece, he also quotes, this time from Charlie Parker's "Parker's Mood." Parker's Mood was one of the tunes set to lyrics by Clarence Beeks (aka King Pleasure), and the musical phrase in question, goes, in Beeks' words, "Come with me, if you want to go to Kansas City." I don't know if Charlap had the "two cities" combination in mind, or the notion that Charlie Parker was born in Kansas City, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Recently, he's appeared in some odd places - a gig at the Jazz Standard with a group playing Rolling Stones tunes, for example. And he makes an appearance on the new Steely Dan CD, "Everything Must Go." The excellent saxophonist Walt Weisskopf is also on the date - I haven't heard the work yet, but I guess I have to. Downbeat featured it recently in an article that reflected on the connection between "good" pop music and jazz. Of course this connection has always been there - where did many of the current crop of jazz standards come from, for example?

Hearing Bill Charlap live is always is a treat (as in JazzNights 1!) and often memorable. For example, I recall a night at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, New Jersey when the Charlap-Gordon duo was just outstanding - Gordon gorgeous as always, and Charlap playing all sorts of Monkish clonks and bangs. We can't promise to match those evenings, but you never know....

"Jon Gordon is the finest young alto saxophonist I've ever heard." Phil Woods

And, of course, for JazzNights 4 we have Jon Gordon on hand as well, and maybe we will get one of those magical nights. Gordon was the winner of the 1996 Monk Competition, and since then has been a regular on the New York and international scenes. He gets rave notices from older generation reed players such as Joe Lovano and Phil Woods, who surely ought to know what they're talking about. I hear a bit of Art Pepper in him, and maybe a trace of Phil Woods as well, but he is very much his own person. He plays beautifully, with a gorgeous tone and no end of ideas. Listen to the opening tune on "Contrasts," the done-by-everyone, Hoagy Carmichael standard, Stardust. Gordon's sound is resonant, glowing as he states the melody the first time (they never get too far from it) - notice also the contrasting rumbles from Charlap as Gordon goes into the upper register. Charlap's solo has so much space in it - you have time to think about every note and phrase and how they fit together. Despite its venerable status, and the glacial pace, the tune holds together wonderfully, and you emerge thinking you've never heard Stardust before. Every phrase from each of them is perfect. It's a remarkable performance right up to Gordon's final high note and Charlap's following bass notes. The more I hear it, the better I like it. By the way, there's another Stardust - with Shirley Horn playing Gordon's role on the trio's second Blue Note CD. It's even slower, I think, with even more space. Listen to how Bill, Peter, and Kenny fill and support unobtrusively, yet adding something with each note.

Jazz Nights 4 represents the first time we have presented an unusual grouping of instruments. We hope to more of that in the future. I know we'll hear some excellent music in September - hope you can be there.

mj

Discography - these are just a few of the available CDs. There are many others.

Bill Charlap Trio [Charlap - Peter Washington (b) - Kenny Washington (d)]

Stardust, Blue Note, 7243535985

Written in the Stars, Blue Note 7243527291

All Through the Night, Criss Cross 1153

Conrad Herwig Quartet: [Herwig (tb), Charlap, James Genus (b), Gene Jackson (d)]

Hieroglyphica, Criss Cross 1207

Jon Gordon Quintet: [John Schofield (g), Kevin Hays (p), ,Peter Washington (b), Bill Stewart (d)]

Possibilities, Doubletime DTRCD-171

Jon Gordon Quintet: [Tim Hagens (tp), Charlap, Larry Grenadier (b), Billy Drummond (d)]

Ask Me Now, Criss Cross 1099

Jon Gordon - Bill Charlap Duo

Contrasts, Doubletime DTRCD-185

Warren Vache - Bill Charlap Duo

2Gether, Nagel Heyer 2011

Bill Charlap will be playing at the following places nearby in the next few months:

Algonquin Hotel, NYC, July 1-8, (with Sandy Stewart) Caramoor, August 2, and at the Jazz Standard, NYC, September 2-6

Jon Gordon will be playing with Maria Schneider's Jazz Orchestra at the Jazz Standard July 18 - 20, and with Bill Charlap at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia October 4 - (I'll be there).

And if you're in Europe this summer, Jon Gordon will be in Portugal, Spain, and France, July 2 - 11, and at the Norway Festival in Oslo, August 11-17

The Bill Charlap trio will be at the Umbria Festival, July 11-20.

And they will both be playing in Princeton, New Jersey on September 20, 2003 - hope to see you there.