Messengers of Jazz: The Legacy of Art Blakey

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.

Born in Phoenix, Lewis Nash began playing drums at age 10, and by 21 he was the “first call” jazz drummer for visiting artists like Sonny Stitt, Art Pepper, Lee Konitz and Slide Hampton. In 1981, Mr. Nash moved to New York City, and over the next 10 years, he played and recorded as a member of the ensembles of Betty Carter, Ron Carter, Branford Marsalis, J. J. Johnson and Sonny Rollins. From 1990-2000, he joined the Tommy Flanagan Trio and was featured on seven of its CDs. Constantly in demand as a sideman, Mr. Nash has amassed a discography of over
400 recordings; in 2009, he was named “jazz’ most valuable player” by Modern Drummer magazine. His own discs as leader include Rhythm Is My Business (Evidence) and Stompin’ at the Savoy (M&I Jazz). His website is lewisnash.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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Syracuse native Joe Magnarelli has toured around the world and/or recorded with Lionel Hampton, “Brother” Jack McDuff, John Hendricks, Harry Connick, Jr., Ray Barretto, Jesse Davis, the Alvin Queen Quintet and the Toshiko Akiyoshi and Vanguard jazz orchestras, among others. He has also appeared in New York City clubs with such artists as Maria Schneider, Jimmy Cobb, Charles Davis, Lew Tabakin, the Louis Hayes Quintet and the Jimmy Heath Big Band. Mr. Magnarelli has appeared on over 100 CDs as a sideman, and he has made eight CDs a leader on the Criss Cross Jazz, Reservoir and give@go labels; his latest release is 2010’s My Old Flame: Joe Magnarelli & Strings. Mr. Magnarelli is currently an adjunct professor at The Juilliard School and Rutgers University. His website is joemagnarelli.com.

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A native of Hartford, CT, Jimmy Greene began playing saxophone at age six. He has toured and recorded in the bands of Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Avishai Cohen, Lewis Nash and Claudia Acuña, among others, and he has appeared on 70 recordings as a sideman. In addition, Mr. Greene has performed throughout the US, Canada, Europe and South America with his quartet, and he has released eight recordings as a leader, including his latest, Live at Smalls (SmallsLive). This fall, Mr. Greene will begin a new position as a full-time jazz faculty member at Western Connecticut State University, and he has taught at the University of Manitoba, Purchase College (SUNY) and The Hartt School. He has received composition commissions and grants from ASCAP/IAJE, Chamber Music America and the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. His website is jimmygreene.com.

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Michael Dease is recognized as one of the premier jazz trombonists of his generation. The Augusta, GA, native earned degrees from The Juilliard School while performing with Illinois Jacquet’s Big Band and Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones. Today, Mr. Dease has worked as performer and composer/arranger with leading jazz artists, including Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Lewis Nash and Wycliffe Gordon. In the pop world, he has recorded with Paul Simon, Alicia Keys, the CBS Studio Orchestra led by Paul Shaffer and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A Jazz Legacy Productions recording artist, he has made three CDs as a leader—Grace, Dease Bones and The Takeover—and has appeared on many others. Mr. Dease is on the faculty at Michigan State University and Queens College (CUNY). His website is mikedease.com.

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Originally from Vancouver, Renee Rosnes (pronounced REE-nee) has toured and recorded with many leading jazz masters, including Joe Henderson, J. J. Johnson, Wayne Shorter, James Moody and Bobby Hutcherson. She was also a founder and a member of the all-star ensemble SFJAZZ Collective, and she is currently a member of the Ron Carter Quartet: Foursight. As a leader, Ms. Rosnes has released 14 recordings, four of which have garnered Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy. The two most recent are Manhattan Rain (Pony Canyon Japan), which features Ms. Rosnes in trio, quartet and quintet settings and includes four original compositions; and Double Portrait (Blue Note), a CD of two-piano duets with her husband Bill Charlap. Ms. Rosnes is also a distinguished composer and arranger; many of her arrangements are featured at Jazz in July concerts. Her website is reneerosnes.com.

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Peter Washington has a discography of more than 450 recordings. Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Washington played classical bass as a teen and majored in English literature at UC Berkeley, where he became interested in jazz. He was invited by Art Blakey to join the Jazz Messengers in New York. From there, Mr. Washington became part of two of jazz’s most celebrated trios: the Tommy Flanagan Trio, and for the past 14 years, the Bill Charlap Trio. Mr. Washington’s freelance work roster is a “who’s who” of jazz, including Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Johnny Griffin, Bobby Hutcherson and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. In 2009, Mr. Washington was part of The Blue Note 7, a septet formed in honor of the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records. The group recorded the album Mosaic and toured the US in 2009.

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