Word: jazzed
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...MUSIC: Jazz pianist Bill Charlap has finished paying his dues...
...Jazz pianist Bill Charlap approaches a song the way a lover approaches his beloved. He wants to know its origins, its shape, its moods. He wants to view it from every angle--melody, harmony, lyrics, verse. He even wants to hear about its romantic history--what other improvisers have done with it. When he sits down to play, the result is an embrace, an act of possession. The tune rises, falls, disappears and resurfaces in new forms as Charlap ranges over the keyboard with nimble, crisply swinging lines, subtly layered textures, dense chords and spiky interjections. But no matter...
...followed this immersion with a solid grounding in classical and jazz piano, then launched his career with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and later with a quintet led by saxophonist Phil Woods, with whom he continues to make appearances today. "What struck me was his depth," says Woods. "A lot of young players have university credentials but have lost touch with the street. They all sound the same. Not Bill. He really gets down deep into...
These days Charlap's career is getting down deep too. When Jazz at Lincoln Center unveiled its Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola last month, Charlap was the opening act. Lincoln Center has booked him to present a concert in February titled Great American Songwriters. He was also named to take over next year as artistic director of the well-regarded Jazz in July festival at Manhattan's 92nd Street...
...debate. What draws me to opera though, as unromantic as it sounds, is that I am entirely indiscriminate in my choice of music and opera just happens to be where my voice lies most comfortably. If I could sing like Ella Fitzgerald, I’d probably sing more jazz. Opera’s just sort of my biological calling...