What's New on WDCB... with Paul Abella

Bill Charlap Trio – And Then Again (Blue Note)

The always tasteful, always swinging Bill Charlap Trio is back with a new live album, And Then Again. Recorded in person in September 2023 at the Village Vanguard in New York City, pianist Bill Charlap is joined, as always, by Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums. The title track is also the set opener, and Charlap and Co. have their foot on the gas from the get go. The rest of the set is comprised of Jazz standards, and they take some really cool liberties on a few of the tunes played here. “All The Things You Are” gets a pretty rubato intro before easing into a nicely swinging tempo. “‘Round Midnight” features a waltzing bridge that really changes the character of Monk’s classic ballad. George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” is infused with a few quotes from Rhapsody in Blue, and the set closer, “(I Don’t Stand) A Ghost of a Chance with You” closes out the festivities on a lovely note. And Then Again might be one of my favorite Charlap records to date.

Jim Holman Trio with Eric Alexander – First Impressions (self-released)

Chicago pianist Jim Holman put together an excellent quartet for a recording session last summer, with saxophonist Eric Alexander, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Tim Davis. The results are found on the album First Impressions. Holman assembled this group to run through seven songs, with one of Alexander’s tunes (“First Impressions”), and a collection of fantastic songs, running the gamut from lovely ballads (“Nancy with the Laughing Face”), to swinging Jazz classics (John Coltrane’s “Lazy Bird,” Frank Foster’s “Simone”), a couple of grooving standards from the Great American Songbook (“A Time for Love,” “A Beautiful Friendship”), and Holman showing off his solo piano skills on a beautiful reading of “My Foolish Heart.” Holman’s a fine pianist, and he surrounded himself with top-shelf talent. The results are exactly what you should expect: an engaging, and sometimes exciting collection of songs as comfortable as a well broken-in pair of jeans. Holman should be proud of the end result, and I look forward to sharing it with you on DCB Jazz!

Tom Harrell – Alternate Summer (High Note)

Trumpeter Tom Harrell has been putting out some interesting albums for High Note Records for a while now. The latest one is Alternate Summer. It features a core band of Harrell on trumpet, Luis Perdomo on various keyboards, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Adam Cruz on drums, and on various tracks, they’re joined by saxophonists Dayna Stephens and Mark Turner and guitarist Charles Altura. Mark Turner is in the hot seat for the first three songs, the bouncy “Miramar,’ the rather funky “Peanut, ” and the album’s title track, “Alternate Summer,” a melancholy almost ballad that really hits the spot. On “UV,” Perdomo shows himself to be an interesting organist. I hope he keeps it in his arsenal in the future. On “Plateau,” and on a few other occasions where Dayna Stephens takes over tenor duties, the band takes on a more aggressive character, and the contrast between Stephens and Turner gives Alternate Summer an extra dimension or two, and makes it a really fun listen from beginning to end. Now, of course, we’ll only be playing one song at a time (mostly), so it might just sound like you’re hearing two entirely different albums from track to track. That will only make Alternate Summer more fun to play, and to listen to!