Bill Charlap Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard

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Bill Charlap Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard

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Bill Charlap and the Village Vanguard are both venerable institutions by now. Charlap, who first stepped forward as a leader in 2000, has become the champion of the traditional jazz piano trio. Charlap’s piano is at the heart of his trio, even though bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington provide priceless support and rev up good solo work of their own. It is not a trio that seeks to make each voice independently important, as became the model following Bill Evans’ groundbreaking trio. And recording live at the Vanguard has become a rite of passage for jazz performers at elast since the Evans set and an equally legendary set by Coltrane. All kinds of great musicians have released sets recorded there: McCoy Tyner, Tom Harrell, Sonny Rollins, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, Joe Lovano, Woody Shaw, Shirley Horn, Fred Hersch, and more. Now Charlap releases his Vanguard set, and it is a reminder both of what sets Charlap apart from many of his contemporaries as well as of how easy it is to take his effortless yet passionate playing for granted.

The trio opens with the controlled, understated, yet supremely swinging Gerry Mulligan composition “Rocker,” and Charlap is able to suggest the typical Mulligan/Gil Evans-style harmonies with his chord voicings. It’s an infectious performance that pulls the listener in immediately. Followed by a gorgeous rendition of Vernon Duke’s venerable “Autumn In New York,” we hear immediately what Charlap is renowned for: an ability to play the most well-worn standards with an authority and grace that makes them his. The trio’s performance has both the warmth of an early autumn Sunday afternoon and the long shadows of the approaching winter. It’s the kind of thing you can truly appreciate holed up in your city apartment on a Sunday morning with the Sunday Times, plenty of hot coffee, a loved one, and maybe a couple of cats nestled in the bosom of autumn.

Charlap takes us back into the swinging heyday of 52nd Street with George Wallington’s “Godchild,” a swinging bop number and a Bud Powell-esque intro to a romp through “The Lady Is a Tramp.” A surprisingly slow but really pretty “It’s Only A Paper Moon” ushers in Charlap’s well-documented love affair with the songs of Harold Arlen; other Arlen compositions represented here include “My Shining Hour” and “Last Night When We Were Young.” He also slips in Jim Hall’s late night masterpiece “All Across the City.” Unsurprisingly, Hall’s composition finds a completely sympathetic performer in Charlap. Charlap has worked with Hall before, and his understated sophistication is a perfect match for Hall’s equally understated style.

Because Charlap works completely within the confines of the traditional jazz piano trio style, it is easy to take his playing for granted and think of him as some kind of throwback to an earlier style. But Charlap has honed his instrumental voice himself, just as Bill Evans and subsequent pianists have done. Charlap’s chosen style is merely a bit closer to the original voice than some of his contemporaries, but it is no less original or worthy of praise for that.