Bill Charlap attracted the attention of Phil Woods during a 1994 jazz cruise, so it's no surprise that the veteran saxophonist snapped him up the second there was a vacancy on the piano bench in his quintet.
This trio session, with bassist Sean Smith and drummer Bill Stewart, gives one a great opportunity to hear the inventiveness, passion, and intense ability to swing that makes Charlap one of the top musicians of his generation.
The program is a cut above the usual play list, starting with two brilliant interpretations of standards, including a dancing "While We're Young" and an introspective "Last Night When We Were Young." Jim Hall's "Bon Ami" is not one of his better-known works, but Charlap's crisp approach to this soft speaking tune should grab anyone's attention.
The pianist contributed the tense post-bop miniature "Starlight," while "Distant Star" is a brief, very captivating free improvisation by the trio.
In addition to his superb work on bass, Smith composed the subtle but twisting theme "'39 World's Fair," while Stewart's brushwork is an important ingredient to this highly recommended CD.
An additional bonus is provided by Phil Woods' hip, very enthusiastic liner notes.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Along the WayJon Gordon | Bill Charlap | Play | 06:45 | 15 MB | 35 MB |
| 2 | While We're YoungWilliam Engvick, Morty Palitz, Alec Wilder | Bill Charlap | Play | 08:30 | 19 MB | 46 MB |
| 3 | Here I'll StayAlan Jay Lerner, Kurt Weill | Bill Charlap | Play | 07:41 | 17 MB | 40 MB |
| 4 | Bon AmiJim Hall | Bill Charlap | Play | 07:17 | 16 MB | 35 MB |
| 5 | '39 World's FairSean Smith | Bill Charlap | Play | 06:14 | 14 MB | 33 MB |
| 6 | StarlightBill Charlap | Bill Charlap | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 7 | The Heather on the HillAlan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe | Bill Charlap | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 10 MB |
| 41 mins | 95 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 217 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harold Arlen | Composer |
| 2 | H. Bloemendaal | Cover Design |
| 3 | Max Bolleman | Engineer |
| 4 | Bill Charlap | Composer, Liner Notes, Piano, Primary Artist |
| 5 | William Engvick | Composer |
| 6 | Jon Gordon | Composer |
| 7 | Jim Hall | Composer |
| 8 | E.Y. "Yip" Harburg | Composer |
| 9 | K. Hasselpflug | Executive Producer |
| 10 | Alan Jay Lerner | Composer |
| 11 | Frederick Loewe | Composer |
| 12 | Morty Palitz | Composer |
| 13 | S. Smith | Composer |
| 14 | Sean Smith | Bass, Composer |
| 15 | Bill Stewart | Drums, Guest Artist |
| 16 | Bill Stewart | Composer |
| 17 | Gerry Teekens | Cover Design, Producer |
| 18 | Kurt Weill | Composer |
| 19 | Alec Wilder | Composer |
| 20 | Phil Woods | Song Notes |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |