Bill Charlap Plays George Gershwin

Bill Charlap | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B0009NCPEW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,529 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

No description available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Rating:
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: Compact Disk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, But Not His Best, August 12, 2005

By 

Buddy Bolden (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bill Charlap Plays George Gershwin (Audio CD)

It's interesting to hear Charlap leading a larger band than his usual trio, and the arrangements on the four septet tracks are quite effective; this album also features some very solid playing, particularly by Charlap himself, his bandmates Peter Washington and Kenny Washington, and guest alto saxophonist Phil Woods. However, for the most part the song selection is rather predictable, and in a few instances certain of the soloists sound slightly uninspired. This is a good album, and it contains some very fine moments, but taken as a whole it lacks the spirit, intensity, and sheer inventiveness that make Charlap's best work so exciting.

I also note that Charlap has now recorded at least four single-composer tribute albums (previous ones were devoted to Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, and Leonard Bernstein). Perhaps it's time to give that format a rest and try a different approach. A live concert recording by the trio would be an extremely welcome change of pace, and at this point in Charlap's career it would also seem to be long overdue.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Get his other CDs instead, September 8, 2005

By 

Pip "ppsm1" (Abbotsford, British Columbia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bill Charlap Plays George Gershwin (Audio CD)

This is okay but it is not the sterling brilliant work Charlap does on his three previous efforts at all. Get any of those instead of this one. Get Stardust. Get Somewhere. Get Written in the Stars. Any and all of those three instead of this one. Another warning...this Gershwin one has the annoying Copy Control demon on it so when you load it onto your mp3 it skips and jumps. most annoying. whatever happen to fair use by people who buy the music????

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Musicians at Their Most Uninspired, September 3, 2005

By 

R.M.J. (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bill Charlap Plays George Gershwin (Audio CD)

I sort of happened upon Bill Charlap when I heard "Somewhere" because there is a decided lack of exciting piano trios around, unless you still like the Keith Jarrett factory. Charlap is one of those guys who has incredible almost orchestral subtlety, and gets that sparkling sound out of his piano lines, but still makes it sound like he's not even trying very hard. But the addition of the horns on this CD ruins it for me - Charlap loses control, and the rest of the musicians turn this into a jam session with tunes that are, let's face it, not that exciting by themselves anymore. I like Payton's energy, but it doesn't seem to mesh with the group. Even when the horns are cut out, "Liza" seems hurried. "I Was So Young" is nice, but even that doesn't have the harmonic or compositional freshness of Charlap's full trio CDs. Compare Charlap plays Gershwin with the Fred Hersch Trio +2, a great example of a trio pianist really taking the time to flesh out and expand his ideas with wind instruments. I hope Charlap takes his time with his next CD, because he's capable of something original and fresh and that's so rare today.