Blue Skies – 2002
Bill Charlap
A joyful solo piano version
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The son of composer Moose Charlap and singer Sandy Stewart (and a cousin of Dick Hyman), Bill Charlap has been playing piano since he was three.
Although he has worked with many notables (including Gerry Mulligan, Benny Carter, Phil Woods, and Scott Hamilton), Charlap has been most often heard as the leader of his own trio, usually with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington.
But, as is obvious from this 2002 performance of “Blue Skies,” Charlap is also a very skilled solo pianist, keeping the music swinging and the momentum flowing even when he is not playing bass lines.
His inventive treatment of the Irving Berlin standard is imaginative and full of subtle surprises.
-Scott Yanow
Stan Getz