This year marks Bill Charlap’s eighth summer as artistic director of 92nd Street Y’s Jazz in July summer festival. One of the world’s premier jazz pianists, Mr. Charlap has performed with many leading artists of our time, ranging from Phil Woods and Tony Bennett to Gerry Mulligan and Wynton Marsalis. He is known for his interpretations of American popular songs and has recorded albums featuring the music of Hoagy Carmichael, Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin. Time magazine wrote, “Bill Charlap approaches a song the way a lover approaches his beloved…no matter how imaginative or surprising his take on a song is, he invariably zeroes in on its essence.”
In 1997, Mr. Charlap formed the Bill Charlap Trio with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington (no relation), now recognized as one of the leading groups in jazz. In 2000, he signed with Blue Note Records and has since received two Grammy nominations, for Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein and, most recently, The Bill Charlap Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard. The Trio performs all over the world; their New York engagements include regular appearances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and they will return to the Village Vanguard for a two-week run this fall. In 2009, Mr. Charlap was pianist and musical director for The Blue Note 7, an all-star jazz septet celebrating the legacy of Blue Note Records on its 70th anniversary. The septet performed a 50-city tour and released the CD, Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note Records.
Mr. Charlap’s experience as concert producer extends beyond Jazz in July. 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. He has produced several concerts for Jazz at Lincoln Center and an evening of George Gershwin’s music at the Hollywood Bowl.
Born in New York City, Mr. Charlap began playing the piano at age three. His father was Broadway composer Moose Charlap, whose credits include Peter Pan, and his mother is singer Sandy Stewart, who appeared on the Ed Sullivan and Perry Como shows and earned a Grammy nomination for her recording of “My Coloring Book.” In 2005, Mr. Charlap and Ms. Stewart released the acclaimed CD, Love Is Here to Stay (Blue Note). This past November, they made their eighth appearance together at The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, and this past February, they headlined a concert on the 92Y Jazz series.
Mr. Charlap is married to renowned jazz pianist Renee Rosnes. The two artists often collaborate in a duo piano setting. In 2010, Mr. Charlap and Ms. Rosnes released Double Portrait, on the Blue Note label, recorded at 92nd Street Y.
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Ted Rosenthal is recognized as a performer, composer and educator. Winner of the 1988 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, he has played with jazz greats, like Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, James Moody and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He has released 13 CDs as a leader; his latest, Out of This Word, reached the top spot on the jazz radio charts. Mr. Rosenthal composes music ranging from jazz tunes to works for orchestra and ballet including Uptown, commissioned by Alvin Ailey. His digital CD, Jazzy Classics, with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, features his Jazz Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, as well as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Mr. Rosenthal is artistic director of Jazz at Dicapo, a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School, and a published author. His website is tedrosenthal.com.
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With a career spanning more than 20 years, bassist/composer Sean Smith has performed with such jazz superstars as Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Peggy Lee, Benny Carter, Johnny Griffin, Rosemary Clooney, Clark Terry and Lee Konitz. He was a member of the Jacky Terrasson Trio for four years, and as a sideman, he can be heard on more than 100 recordings. His music has been played and recorded by Phil Woods, Bill Charlap, Mark Murphy, Gene Bertoncini and others, and he has been featured on the soundtracks of several films. As a leader, his Sean Smith Quartet has made several recordings featuring his own compositions. Its most recent CD, Trust, was released last spring on Smithereen Records to rave reviews; it was named one of the best jazz albums of 2011 by the Huffington Post. Mr. Smith’s website is seansmithjazz.com.
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Kenny Washington was born in Brooklyn. In 1977, while still in his teens, he worked with Lee Konitz and his nonet. He has been a member of the Bill Charlap Trio for 14 years and has performed and recorded with dozens of major artists, giving him a discography of hundreds of titles. Artists include Benny Carter, Betty Carter, Johnny Griffin, Ron Carter, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Tommy Flanagan, Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval and Benny Goodman. Mr. Washington is a noted jazz historian and radio personality; he has written liner notes and helped prepare re-releases by Art Blakey, Count Basie and others, and he was an announcer on WBGO jazz radio. He currently serves on the faculties of Purchase College (SUNY) and The Juilliard School, teaching drums and jazz history.
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Darwin Noguera is a Nicaraguan pianist, band leader and composer who integrates classical, jazz and Latin rhythms. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in jazz performance at Manhattan School of Music (MCM) and is a member of the Grammy Award-nominated MCM Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. Darwin is the co-founder and composer for the Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble (CALJE) and the Evolution Quintet, and he has formed a new trio in New York. He has released two albums under the Chicago Sessions label: The Gardener, with Evolution, and Blueprints with the CALJE. He has performed with artists such as Paquito D’Rivera, Steve Turre, Brian Lynch, Paoli, Mejias and Howard Levy, and he often collaborates and plays with local musicians in Chicago and New York. His website is darwinnoguera.com.
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Isaac Sleator is a pianist with a love for all music. He studies jazz with Karim Merchant at the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Precollege and with Kevin Blanq at LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and Performing Arts in New York City, where he is a senior. He also studies classical piano with Deborah Bradley-Kramer. Isaac has played in combos and the big band at MSM. As part of the Theolonious Monk Institute of Jazz high school program, his combo was a finalist in the 2012 Charles Mingus High School Competition. Isaac enjoys composing as well as performing music of diverse genres.
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