Bill Charlap Trio - Notes from New York: still finding something fresh and original to say

New York pianist Bill Charlap’s trio, with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington (no relation), has been on the road since 1997.

The levels of empathy are high on this, their debut recording for the Impulse label, made directly after a two-week engagement at New York’s Lincoln Centre.

The son of a Broadway composer and a 1950s pop singer, Charlap was marinated in the American songbook from an early age.

His interpretations of classics like I'll Remember April, A Sleepin' Bee and The Sunny Side of the Street strike a fine balance, carefully observing the constraints of the mainstream tradition (it's as if Coltrane never played a note) while still finding something fresh and original to say.

[ billcharlap.com ]