The album begins with a playful take on Dave Brubeck’s tribute to Duke Ellington, “The Duke” as Charlap begins almost minimally with an astute choice of notes as Kenny slithers across his cymbals, later switching to sticks to ignite the swing portion, characteristic of how this trio quickly shifts tempo while maintaining the same degree of elegance and grace. While all the music is easy on the ears, and it could be tempting to let it run in the background, true appreciation for their finessed sound involves focused listening. Yet, the beauty of their sound lies in the most minute details – the way Charlap sustains certain notes, the elements of blues in the pianist’s approach, the crafty brush work of Kenny, the unison and counterpoint strokes of Peter’s bass, the collective telepathic way they can improvise lines, harmonies, and navigate changes. One has the sense, not only here, but through volumes of previous work, that these three could play just about any jazz standard by rote. Lewis but is symbolically a celebration of the return of live music to New York City after the pandemic shutdown. The title is named for the 1930s standard penned by Victor Young and Samuel M.
Theirs, of course, is a more refined sound, centered mostly on jazz standards and Songbook favorites. Like Chick Corea’s famous trios with John Patitucci and Dave Weckl and Christian McBride and Brian Blade, the concept is a collective with all three members playing an equal role is at the heart of Charlap’s approach. So, Street of Dreams marks a triumphant return, almost like a fine wine that just improves with age as it would be difficult to find anywhere three eloquent voices so finely tuned and in synch with one another. Of the more than almost thirty albums under Charlap’s name, five appeared on Blue Note beginning with Written in the Stars (2000), with the most recent, until now, Double Portrait (2010), which was with his acclaimed pianist wife, Renee Rosnes.
Recently Charlap finished a brief duet tour with Dee Dee Bridgewater, and honestly, it seemed a bit odd to not have the esteemed Washington (no relation) rhythm tandem along. It’s practically gotten to the point where the mere mention of any one of their names, invariably calls to mind the other two. Jazz boasts an iconic history of piano trios but clearly the nearly 25-year run of pianist Bill Charlap, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington ranks them as one the premiere units heard over the past two decades.