Bill Charlap, piano Kenny Washington, drums Peter Washington, bass

For more than a decade, pianist/bandleader Bill Charlap has been forging a solo career characterized by hard-swinging brio, eloquence, and a rigor-meets-romance musical sensibility. He last appeared in Ann Arbor with Marian McPartland in 2007 and now leads his trio though unique interpretations of the Leonard Bernstein songbook in a program titled Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein. Featuring the brilliant rhythm dream team of drummer Kenny Washington and bassist Peter Washington, the Grammy-nominated album of the same name is part of Charlap's continued exploration of American composers and features jazz reworkings of “Cool” and “America” from West Side Story, as well as releases from On the Town, Wonderful Town, Fancy Free, and Candide. One of the Village Vanguard's most popular performers, Charlap, the son of Broadway composer Moose Charlap (Peter Pan, Alice Through the Looking Glass), is regarded as one of the premiere interpreters of the Great American Songbook. “When he sits down to play, the result is an embrace, an act of possession.” (Time Magazine)