Listening to pianist
Bill Charlap
is akin to hearing acoustic jazz in its purest form, and that's the overriding feeling you have while listening to his 2024 concert album
And Then Again
. Recorded live at the famed Village Vanguard in New York, the album features
Charlap
and his long-running trio with bassist
Peter Washington
and drummer
Kenny Washington
. Together on and off since the '90s, they play with a swinging, urbane sophistication marked by a warm camaraderie and dancerly interplay. As a soloist,
displays his deep grasp of straight-ahead jazz traditions, tackling a handful of gorgeous jazz standards. We get sparkling, brawny renditions of "All the Things You Are," "In Your Own Sweet Way," and "Darn that Dream." He also delves into
Thelonious Monk
's "'Round Midnight," evoking
Monk
's angular, cubist bop style but in his own nuanced way. In fact, what is so compelling about
's playing is just how balanced it is. He's clearly imbibed an array of influences, from
Earl Hines
and
Teddy Wilson
to
Bud Powell
Bill Evans
, yet he always sounds like himself and is never too indebted to any one performer. The album even opens with his title-track original, a spritely blues in the modern jazz tradition that finds him tumbling through a string of bebop and modal harmonies.
closes out the evening with a dusky, harmonically lush take on "(I Don't Stand) a Ghost of a Chance with You," sinking into the song with a hushed reverie that clings to you long after the album ends. ~ Matt Collar