One year on from Note from New York, Bill Charlap is digging into his deep-New-York identity with his brilliant Uptown Downtown. As discreet as he is refined, the pianist from the Big Apple has for years been working on transmitting and celebrating an eternal jazz. With him, you are guaranteed a flawless journey into the 1940s and 1950s. The Great American Songbook that shook the boards on Broadway and Hollywood cinema screens could find no greater ambassador. It is magic every time! Even on the most-covered standards like Sophisticated Lady that closes the album. Supported by a rhythm section worth its weight in gold (Peter Washington on the double bass and Kenny Washington on drums), Bill Charlap mixes a nectar of swing, a marvel of refinement and good taste. The heat coming off this sound is just so New York. This unique way of playing the melody. An art in itself. Art that demands humility and attention; experience and intuition. An approach that makes Charlap the heir apparent of a certain tradition of piano jazz, in which Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan and Shirley Horn are essential figures (he knew all three), and likewise Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum, Ahmad Jamal or Sonny Clark... this is a record with mind-blowing class. © CM/Qobuz