The New York Trio, consisting of pianist Bill Charlap, bassist Jay Leonhart, and drummer Bill Stewart, have created quite a stir in Japan, as they have entered the studio regularly to record for the Japanese Venus Jazz label at the start of the 21st century.
Their sixth CD for the label, Thou Swell draws from the songbook of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, a composer/lyricist combo who wrote many songs that became standards.
As a result, a number of these songs have been frequently recorded by jazz musicians and seem in danger of overexposure.
But Charlap is a thoughtful arranger, playing "My Funny Valentine" complete with the usually omitted verse that sets up the song while playing it at a very deliberate tempo, resulting in a stunningly different take.
The pendulum-like introduction added to the breezy "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" is fun, as is the lush setting of the infrequently performed "That's for Me." Some pieces can't help but cover familiar ground, but that doesn't detract from these enjoyable performances.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | My Funny ValentineLorenz Hart | New York Trio | Play | 07:15 | 16 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | I Didn't Know What Time It WasLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | New York Trio | Play | 05:23 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 3 | Where or WhenLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | New York Trio | Play | 07:50 | 17 MB | 39 MB |
| 4 | My Heart Stood StillLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | New York Trio | Play | 05:54 | 13 MB | 31 MB |
| 5 | That's for MeLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | New York Trio | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 15 MB |
| 6 | There's a Small HotelLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | New York Trio | Play | 04:46 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 7 | With a Song in My HeartLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | New York Trio | Play | 06:53 | 15 MB | 37 MB |
| 8 | Wait Till You See HerLorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers | New York Trio | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Have You Met Miss Jones | New York Trio | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| 51 mins | 117 MB | |||||
| 51 mins | 254 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Abbott | Photography |
| 2 | Todd Barkan | Producer |
| 3 | Bill Charlap | Piano |
| 4 | Tetsuo Hara | Mastering, Mixing, Producer |
| 5 | Lorenz Hart | Composer |
| 6 | Shuji Kitamura | Mastering, Mixing |
| 7 | Jay Leonhart | Bass |
| 8 | Katherine Miller | Engineer |
| 9 | Genevieve Naylor | Cover Photo |
| 10 | New York Trio | Primary Artist |
| 11 | Richard Rodgers | Composer |
| 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). |