| Bill Charlap | |
| Birth Name: | William Morrison Charlap |
| Birth Date: | 15 October 1966 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Instrument: | Piano |
| Years Active: | 1989–present |
| Label: | Chiaroscuro, Criss Cross, Blue Note, Double-Time, Venus, Impulse! |
| Associated Acts: | Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Peter Washington, Kenny Washington |
William Morrison Charlap (born October 15, 1966, pronounced "Shar-Lap"[1]) is an American jazz pianist and educator.
Born in New York City, Bill Charlap is the son of American Broadway composer Moose Charlap and the singer Sandy Stewart. Stewart was a regular on Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall television series and had a hit recording in 1962 with "My Coloring Book".[2] Charlap is a distant cousin of the jazz pianist Dick Hyman.[3]
Charlap began playing piano at the age of three. He studied classical music in addition to jazz.
Early in Chaplap's career, he was a member of with Gerry Mulligan's band, and first recorded with Mulligan in 1989. He has also worked with Benny Carter, Tony Bennett, Phil Woods, Scott Hamilton, Ron Carter, and others. In 1993, he released his first album under his own name, Along With Me. In the mid-1990s, he was the musical director of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, A Celebration of Johnny Mercer, part of New York's JVC Jazz Festival.[4] In 1995, he joined the Phil Woods Quintet.
In 1997, Charlap first recorded with a trio that included the unrelated musicians Peter Washington (double bass) and Kenny Washington (drums). This trio continued to record and perform live through the 2020s. In addition to the instrumental jazz recordings that he has released, Charlap has frequently recorded with singers. He recorded Love Is Here to Stay (2004) and Something to Remember (2012) with his mother, Sandy Stewart. In 2016, , an album featuring Charlap and Tony Bennett, won the award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. As a backing musician, he has recorded with Carol Sloane, Freddie Cole, Barbra Streisand, Diana Krall, and others.
Charlap appears at least twice a year for engagements at jazz clubs, including the Village Vanguard.[5] Since 2001, he has recorded as a member of the studio group New York Trio for the Japanese label Venus Records with bassist Jay Leonhart and drummer Bill Stewart.[6]
Charlap succeeded Dick Hyman as artistic director of New York City's 92nd Street Y Jazz in July six-program series after Hyman's 20th year in 2004. He and his wife, Canadian jazz pianist Renee Rosnes, released an album of piano duets Double Portrait on Blue Note Records/EMI.[7]
In 2008, Charlap became part of The Blue Note 7, a septet formed that year in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. The group recorded an album in 2008, Mosaic, which was released in 2009 on Blue Note/EMI, and toured the United States in promotion of the album from January to April 2009.[8] The group plays the music of Blue Note Records from various artists, with arrangements by members of the band and his wife Renee Rosnes.
In September 2015, Charlap became the Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.[9]
He married the Canadian jazz pianist Renee Rosnes in New York City on August 25, 2007.[10] He has two daughters from a previous marriage and one stepson from Rosnes’ previous marriage to Billy Drummond.
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Year released | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1993 | Along with Me | Chiaroscuro | 1994 | Trio, with Sean Smith & Andy Eulau (bass; separately), Ron Vincent (drums) | |
| 1993 | Bill Charlap & Sean Smith | Progressive | 1993 | Co-leader duo, with Sean Smith (bass) | |
| 1993 | Piano & Bass | Progressive | 1994 | Co-leader duo, with Sean Smith (bass) | |
| 1995 | Michael Moore/Bill Charlap | Concord Jazz | 1995 | Co-leader duo, with Michael Moore (bass) | |
| 1995 | Souvenir | Criss Cross Jazz | 1995 | Trio, with Scott Colley (bass), Dennis Mackrel (drums) | |
| 1996 | The Gerry Mulligan Songbook | Chiaroscuro | 1997 | A posthumous tribute to Gerry Mulligan (saxophone), with former members Ted Rosenthal (piano), Dean Johnson (bass), Ron Vincent (drums) | |
| 1996 | Distant Star | Criss Cross Jazz | 1997 | Trio, with Sean Smith (bass), Bill Stewart (drums) | |
| 1997 | All Through the Night | Criss Cross Jazz | 1998 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | |
| 1998 | 'S Wonderful | Venus | 1999 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | |
| 2000 | Written in the Stars | Blue Note | 2000 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | |
| 2000 | Contrasts | Double-Time | 2001 | Co-leader, duo with Jon Gordon (alto sax) | |
| 2000 | 2gether | Nagel-Heyer | 2001 | Co-leader, with Warren Vaché (cornet, flugelhorn) | |
| 2001 | Artfully | Urban Beauty | 2001 | The European Jazz Piano Trio (Mark Hodgson bass), Stephen Keogh (drums)) | |
| 2001 | Blues in the Night | Venus | 2001 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) | |
| 2001 | Stardust | Blue Note | 2003 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums), plus guests Tony Bennett (vocals), Frank Wess (tenor sax), Jim Hall (guitar), Shirley Horn (vocals) | |
| 2002 | The Things We Did Last Summer | Venus | 2002 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) | |
| 2003 | Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein | Blue Note | 2004 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | |
| 2003 | Love You Madly | Venus | 2003 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) | |
| 2003 | Live at the Village Vanguard | Blue Note | 2007 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums); in concert | |
| 2004 | You Taught My Heart to Sing | HighNote | 2006 | Co-leader, duo with Houston Person (tenor sax) | |
| 2004 | Love is Here to Stay | Blue Note | 2005 | Co-leader, with Sandy Stewart (vocals) | |
| 2004 | Stairway to the Stars | Venus | 2005 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) | |
| 2005 | Plays George Gershwin: The American Soul | Blue Note | 2005 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums), plus guests Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Slide Hampton (trombone), Phil Woods (alto sax), Frank Wess (tenor sax) | |
| 2005 | Begin the Beguine | Venus | 2006 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) | |
| 2006 | Thou Swell | Venus | 2007 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) | |
| 2007 | Always | Venus | 2008 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) | |
| 2008 | Stardust | Venus | 2008 | New York Trio (Jay Leonhart (bass), Bill Stewart (drums)) with Ken Peplowski | |
| 2009 | I'm Old Fashioned | Venus | 2010 | with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Peter Washington (bass) | |
| 2009 | Double Portrait | Blue Note | 2010 | Co-leader piano duet, with Renee Rosnes (piano) | |
| 2011 | Something to Remember | Ghostlight | 2012 | Co-leader, with Sandy Stewart (vocals) | |
| 2015? | Columbia | 2015 | Co-leader, with Tony Bennett (vocals) with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | ||
| 2015 | Notes from New York | Impulse! | 2016 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | |
| 2017 | Uptown, Downtown | Impulse![11] | 2017 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | |
| 2021 | Street of Dreams | Blue Note[12] | 2021 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) | |
| 2023 | And Then Again | Blue Note | 2024 | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) |
The Blue Note 7
Other Blue Note appearances
With Harry Allen
With Carol Sloane
With Phil Woods
With others