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JAZZ ROOM SERIES TO FEATURE BILL CHARLAP AND HIS TRIO The brilliant pianist Bill Charlap brings his all-star trio, including bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, to William Paterson University on Sunday, October 24 as part of the university's 1999 fall Jazz Room Series The concert will begin at 4 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on the campus in Wayne. Tickets are available in advance or on the day of the performance at $9 standard and $6 for senior citizens, non-William Paterson students and William Paterson faculty, staff and alumni. William Paterson students may attend free of charge. Born and raised in New York City, Charlap is the son of Broadway composer Moose Charlap and singer Sandy Stewart and has been playing piano for as long as he can remember. In addition to leading his own trio with Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums, Charlap has been a member of the Phil Woods Quintet since 1995. He has performed with Benny Carter, Clark Terry, Jim Hall, and Al Grey, among many other jazz superstars. Charlap was a member of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet for two years in the late 1980s and has been the accompanist of choice for several noted vocalists, including Tony Bennett and Carol Sloane. He has appeared on over 50 CDs as a sideman as well as recording under his own name. Peter Watrous in The New York Times praised Charlap's first trio album, "Souvenir" (Criss Cross Jazz) with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Dennis Mackrel, saying it has "ease and elegance that are rarely found in jazz, especially among young musicians." Charlap's next release with Criss Cross, "Distant Star" with bassist Sean Smith and drummer Bill Stewart, was awarded 4 1/2 stars in Down Beat magazine and was described as "an absolute must-get CD" by Herb Wong in the Jazz Educators Journal. His latest release, the critically acclaimed
"All Through the Night," blends modern jazz with the
American popular song. It was awarded 4 1/2 stars in Down Beat
and received the 1998 Blue Chip Jazz Award from the Jazz Educators
Journal. Prior to the concert, Charlap and his trio will be the guests for "Sittin' In," an informal, hosted talk that begins at 3 p.m. in room 101 of Shea Center. Admission is free to all Jazz Room ticketholders. Launched in the spring of 1978, William Paterson's Jazz Room Series has earned a reputation for presenting concerts by eminent musicians in the jazz world. The series has been awarded numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and just received its third consecutive Citation of Excellence from the Council for its cultural contribution to the state. For additional information, please call William
Paterson's Shea Center Box Office at 973-720-2371.
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