Bill Charlap Trio

Previous editions of Bill Charlap's songbook forays looked deep into the outputs of Hoagy Carmichael and Leonard Bernstein, but here the focus is on Gershwin, both the familiar and unfamiliar. Carmichael and Bernstein cast big shadows across the jazz standard repertoire, but theirs pale next to Gershwin's. For this recording date, Charlap beefed up his usual trio (with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington), handing leading roles to alto legend Phil Woods, tenor saxist Frank Wess, with trumpeter Nicholas Payton and trombonist Slide Hampton more than filling out the lineup.

These guys aren't doing anything totally new with these songs, but check out the numbers they pick: The standards "Soon," "'S Wonderful" and "A Foggy Day" appear alongside some surprises. The disc opens with a spry trio rendition of "Who Cares?," featuring Kenny's smooth way with brushes, which shows up on a lot of the tracks: The trio's burning, hushed "Liza" flickers by almost before it registers, with Kenny offering a wry solo with his subtle inflections. And there's a pensive "I Was So Young (You Were So Beautiful)" for just the trio that's the stuff of dreams.

Woods's take on "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" veers closely to a parody of emotion, but he's hanging out on the risk-taking edge, and he means every note. The longest cut is "A Foggy Day," clocking in around nine minutes, with Charlap's easygoing solo effortlessly leading into Hampton's equally unruffled vision.

That track also shows a distinct trait in Charlap's playing: He's never far from the melody. At the end of his solo on that one, he outright quotes it. He has the sort of understated eloquence that takes years to master—and even longer to appear understated. Considering how loving these renditions are, Gershwin would've been happy.—Marc Geelhoed