98 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 J N P iano music fills the home of Bill Charlap and wife Renee Rosnes, both concert instrumentalists. Each has a Steinway placed in the living room. Part of their dual performing talents moves into East Lansing on the evening of Oct. 4, when Charlap takes the stage with singer and actress Dee Dee Bridgewater. It will be one of their many shows together; both are Grammy Award winners. “Dee Dee and I have been playing in duet for a number of years,” said Charlap, who has per- formed over his career at Michigan venues, includ- ing Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor and a stage presented at the annual Detroit Jazz Festival. “Everything that Dee Dee and I do is very spontaneous and very extemporaneous. It draws on everything we are individually and together. There’s wonderful chemistry between the two of us in terms of running the emotional gamut with the way we try to express ourselves musically. “Dee Dee is a brilliant musician and a great singer in control of her instrument,” he says. “She’s also a great jazz improviser, a great interpreter of a song, a great storyteller, a great actor and a great person of the theater.” While Charlap does not yet know what num- bers the two will be presenting, it is likely to be a concert that includes songs written by George Gershwin and Duke Ellington. It is expected that some numbers will be known very well by audi- ences and some numbers will be known less well. Songs written for Broadway by his late father, Morris “Moose” Charlap, also could be on the program. Those include songs written for Peter Pan, The Conquering Hero and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Charlap said he picks a repertoire of songs that tell stories and are from the canon of the great songwriters and jazz writers. “The piano has always been central in my life,” said Charlap, whose Jewish heritage can be traced through his dad. “I watched my father play and express himself, and I never felt a division between myself and the mechanics of the instrument. I was lucky to have that sort of blessing.” What attracts Charlap to jazz is the expression of the individual, the sound of the blues, the vocal quality, the rhythmic quality and the dimension that the music speaks with innovations from improvised music. Charlap has performed with his mom, television and recording singer Sandy Stewart. He also teach- es and is the director of jazz studies at William Paterson University in New Jersey. The pianist, who just finished a two-week run at the Village Vanguard in New York City, has recent- ly released a new recording titled And Then Again. He prepared that recording with other members of the Bill Charlap Trio, which includes bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. Among the featured songs are “Sometimes I’m Happy” and “ All the Things You Are.” The visiting musician, who has been perform- ing for about 30 years, has made close to 20 record albums, including the Grammy-nominated Somewhere: Songs of Leonard Bernstein. Traveling to stages around the world, the pianist got to know his wife during concerts in Japan, and he appeared at a music festival in Israel. While his two daughters have not chosen entertainment careers, his stepson has. Dylan Drummond is a guitarist and songwriter the pia- nist defines as performing “stone cold rock.” With time off from traveling, Charlap likes to watch Gene Wilder films and read. Preparing for travel to Michigan, he says he is looking forward to the stage experiences with Dee Dee Bridgewater. “I love Michigan,” he said. “It’s a very hip part of the world with very intelligent and artistically thinking people. With Dee Dee, chemistry makes us blend together. It happens naturally like the table of elements. “We had the chemistry from the first second we played together. I’ve had that with Kenny Washington and Peter Washington and, of course, with my wife, Renee. “Generally, it happens right away, or it doesn’t happen at all. You can’t invent it or make it hap- pen. You have more and more trust and more and more risk within the connection. There’s so much dimension between what happens with the two of us that it becomes a very exhilarating experience for me — and I think for the audience.” Details Bill Charlap and Dee Dee Bridgewater will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, at the Pasant Theatre in East Lansing. $19-$42. (800) WHARTON. whartoncenter.com. COURTESY BILL CHARLAP ARTS&LIFE MUSIC Bill Charlap performs on stage with singer/actress Dee Dee Bridgewater. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Pianist Bill Charlap and singer Dee Dee Bridgewater to offer jazz performance in East Lansing.