Customer Reviews

Stardust

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was channel surfing the other night and ran across a cable program called "The Musicians." That night, the interviewer had Tony Bennett as his guest who answered all sorts of questions about repertoire, accompanists, influences, styles, etc. and then sang some songs with his accompanist, Bill Charlap, who is obviously a favorite of Bennett's. I thought Charlap's work that night was superb: he obviously both supports and challenges Bennett.

The very next day, one of those crazy accidents: a friend highly recommended a new CD called STARDUST (The Music of Hoagy Carmichael)by someone named Bill Charlap. So, here I am.

Charlap, who the liner notes explain, comes from a musical family (composer dad, singer mom) is a true original: his music is obviously influenced by Bill Evans, but there's also some Fats Waller on one of the pieces and, frankly, the entire album is simply gorgeous: Charlap always lets you know that he respects the tune he's arranged for his trio--they may be improvising but Hoagy Carmichael is never far away. Charlap can be exciting on songs like "Jubilee" which I'd never heard before or mellow on the very familiar "Skylark." And then there's the title track with none other than Shirley Horn. Charlap knows when to put himself on the back burner and let Horn be the star. Best of all, there's Tony Bennett singing the blues with Charlap and his trio (Kenny Washington on drums and Peter Washington on bass) in "I Get Along Without You Very Well." Super.

Many of the Hoagy Carmichael songs were unfamiliar to me; most are the kind of songs (like "The Nearness of You") where you listen and say, "Wow! He wrote THAT great song, too???" HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

One of the large number of things I don't "get" is recording sessions where the young musician is paired up with one (or more) of his idols. Musicians and record companies seem to eat these things up. One the one hand, it gives the young upcoming artist a chance to meet and play with his musical "mentors". On the other hand, much like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks, flashes of brilliance may get caught on magnetic tape and replayed through the ages. The actual track record for theses meetings is mostly lackluster. The reasons for this are many. Often times the young musician is so in awe of his legend that he becomes inhibited and plays below his own standard. Almost as often the "legend" himself is past his prime and is no longer able to bring an edge to the proceedings as he once could. Or, as one suspects, there is just no chemistry between them. In any case, I approach these kind of records with the same trepidation I have when invited to supper at a friend's house only to be told that they had never fixed this particular dish before as we begin to sit down to the meal.

Charlap's earlier WRITTEN IN THE STARS was one of my favorite discoveries two years ago. . I thought the Charlap in trio with the two Washingtons was unusually confident and played with an easy grace that I associated with the late Bill Evans. Oddly enough, other's perceptions of Charlap's playing mirror the same assessments once reserved for Evans when he was alive. Many don't hear anything more than you would hear in any cheap cocktail lounge jazz trio in Springfield, Illinois and they resent all the fuss being made of this overrated piano player. Others hear a remarkable introspection and depth in the playing that appears before you almost by stealth. At first one suspects that this can only appear occasionally in Charlap's playing; but there it is cut after cut. You then wonder why some don't hear it. Yet others who certainly have no tin ear don't. I doubt if it is anything so self-serving as one listener being more sensitive than the other; so I am mystified as to why this happens. Just let the observation stand that you may profoundly come to disagree with my admiration for Mr. Charlap.

STARDUST is a remembrance of Hoagy Carmichael-one of America's most recorded and praised songwriters of the first half of the twentieth century (Carmichael fell into performing almost by accident while studying law at Indiana University. That was Carmichael himself playing the piano player in Bogart and Becall's TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT.) To the extent most of us remember him, we tend to associate Carmichael with a few slow meditative songs. But as this collection shows, Carmichael also had quite a hand in writing lively and bright swing tunes. Thus this CD kicks off with an energetic version of "Jubilee" where the individual skills of each of the trio immediately make themselves known. Kenny Washington's drumming and Peter Washington's bass playing are crisp and rarely fail to demand equal time with Charlap's dance across the keyboard. Charlap's playing here as on the rest of the CD is sharp and clear even on softer notes and in the upper register.

I am not a fan of Tony Bennett and his reputation as Sinatra's favorite singer puzzles me; but I have to give him credit for his contribution to "I Get Along Without You Very Well". Bennett's reading is both touching and vulnerable shedding light on a character feigning an air of defiance while revealing grief, exhaustion and the briefest hint of inebriation.

Likewise, Frank Wess' addition of saxophone to "Rockin' Chair" and "Blue Orchids" if graceful and intimate yet giving ample space for Charlap to breathe and open up into his own voice. Jim Hall in contrast almost takes over "Two Sleepy People" -not because he hogs the mic but because he is that good. Shirley Horn turns in an elegant "Stardust" at over nine minutes. Charlap obviously feels this "Stardust" is the centerpiece of the album; but my own prejudice leans me more toward "The Nearness of You" or "Blue Orchids".

When it comes to jazz, I prefer instrumentals to the exclusion of almost all jazz singing. This is somewhat akin to loving opera without the words in some circles; but there are scores of others out there who press "skip" on the CD player when a jazz artist chooses to spice things up with a vocalist. Therefore many may be confused why the two vocals on this CD (Bennett and Horn) should not have been used more while for me they are more than enough. Still for me, with all due respect for Charlap's guests, the best place of STARDUST is the trio itself. Only Frank Wess sounds like he could be a natural part of the group with his insightful and sympathetic interplay.

I still recommend WRITTEN IN THE STARS before this CD. As important as Carmichael is to American musical history, I am not convinced devoting an entire album over to his music shows it off to its best advantage. What cannot be questioned is the appeal and charm of STARDUST about crowded highway of jazz releases. The quality of playing does not suffer the defects typically found when "respected guests" take a seat along side younger musicians. All reservations aside, this CD is one of the best purchases you could make.

I dislike jazz that sounds like a cat fight and doesn't go anywhere. I like jazz that has direction and that offers a creative interpretation of recognizable melodies. I like jazz that creates a distict mood and transports me to a higher level of consciouness. I don't know a lot about jazz from a technical standpoint but I know what I like when I hear it, such as Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Bill Evans, Carmen Mcrae and Diana Krall. If you are searching for a jazz CD that is both relaxing and rejuvinating, I would highly recommend both Stardust and Written in the Stars. They have turned into two of my favorites. Happy listening!

Charlap once again proves himself the master of 88 keys. His elegant touch, his perfectly realized phrasing, make every album a high point in recent jazz. How wonderful that he has at least 30 years of recording left to give the world. Own all of Charlap, and start here.

The embarrassment of riches here is so great that in a better world it would be considered one of the finest jazz recordings of all. From the arrival like a lion of Tony Bennett to the aching and hushed spacial romance of the late and deeply missed Shirley Horn, the guest spots are magnificent and integrated into the whole of the ode to Hoagy C., but it is the dynamics of the trio, the understated mastery of what so many call the "mainstream" by Charlap and the two Washingtons that makes this so grand. Audiophiles should note, the production is excellent. Absolutely essential.

Bill Charlap's playing on this album certainly shows him to be a highly competent jazz pianist. However, in my opinion the other reviews I have read overrate his playing. Stylistically he sounds too much like a more commercial mid 1960's mainstream piano trio. To me there's something lacking in terms of both modernity and depth in his playing and from time to time he plays figures of questionable musicality. There's nothing even approaching the depth of Bill Evans or say Brad Meldhau. In fact I was just listening to a 1964 album of Denny Zeitlin who I think sounds far superior to Charlap and in some ways more modern even then. Charlap is a good player and this isnt' a bad album but there are many jazz pianists today whom I would much rather listen to.

Bill Charlap is undoubtedly one of the most talented, lyrcially-blessed jazz pianiasts around today. He has a deft touch and a senisbility that far exceeds his age and life experiences. That told, I find it very hard to give his latest effort, Stardust, more than two stars. With very few exceptions, I found this CD to be fairly self-indulgent and Charlap rather morose in his intrepretations. It wasn't nearly a refeshing to the ear as Written in the Stars. I would recommend this for a Charlap devotee but no one else. He has made better albums.