By Jack Reinhard

One of the world’s iconic jazz pianists, Bill Charlap, brings his renowned playing to Allamuchy Township on Jan. 21.

Charlap will be joined jazz double bassist Peter Washington Rutherfurd Hall in Allamuchy from 3-5 p.m. 

Charlap, a native of New York City has been nominated for two Grammy Awards since being signed to Blue Note Record in 2000.  Those two nominations were for Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein and The Bill Charlap Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard.  He was the 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. 

Charlap has also performed with major artists, ranging from Phil Woods and Tony Bennett to Gerry Mulligan and Wynton Marsalis.  Time Magazine once 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.” 

Washington is no stranger to jazz either.  He began his career at the age of 14 when he played classical bass with the Westchester Community Symphony.  He later studied English at the University of California, Berkley.  As a student, he became interested in jazz and began freelancing in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Washington currently works in the Tommy Flanagan trio and for Charlap, and was the founding member of the collective hard bop sextet, One For All. 

Along with Charlap, Washington became part of The Blue Note 7.  In 2009, the group released an album called Mosaic, and toured the United States promoting the album from January through April of that year.    

Tickets for the event are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.rutherfurdhall.org or call 908-637-8461.

(Photo by Carol Friedman)