By Marilyn Lester***The second night of 92NY‘s annual Jazz in July festival was dedicated to the piano, with a quartet of virtuosos on the grand and baby grand dominating the stage. Outgoing Jazz in July Artistic Director, Bill Charlap, was joined by incoming Artistic Director, Aaron Diehl, 
plus two young wizards of the keys, Isaiah J. Thompson and Caelan Cardello. The output of these eight hands of genius can be neatly summed up in the opening chorus of “I Love a Piano,” Irving Berlin’s 1915 ode to his instrument:
I love a piano, I love a piano
I love to hear somebody play
Upon a piano, a grand piano
It simply carries me away
Fittingly, the two Artistic Directors, present and future, opened with “What Is This Thing Called Love?” (Cole Porter), which has become a favorite of jazz musicians. But then again, the set list of this program was filled with jazz favorites, particularly the second number, played solo by Diehl: “Tiger Rag” (Eddie Edwards, Nick LaRocca, Henry Ragas, Tony Sbarbaro, Larry Shields). “Tiger Rag” is not only one of the most recorded jazz favorites in history, but holds the record for contrafacts (making a new tune from the original by modifying chord structure) by jazz musician-composers. Diehl played the 1933 Art Tatum 
version, infusing that short and florid arrangement with his own light-as-air technique. In another solo, “Ruby, My Dear” by another titan of jazz piano, Thelonius Monk, noted for a unique improvisational style, Diehl lifted the ballad into the ethereal with his own, clean, classics-based brilliance.
Tatum (who Charlap referred to as “God”), is indeed considered one of THE all-time greats of jazz piano. He played a lot of notes, but what he did with them was brilliant—and there haven’t been many players since who can master that style with the ability to still play cleanly and comprehendingly. One of these is the breathtaking newbie on the scene, Isaiah J. Thompson. His rendition of “High-Fly” (Randy Weston) reflected the African roots that Weston infused into his music, with a sprinklin
g of Oscar Peterson, but all coming together in the stunning fluidity of Thompson.
Pianists, perhaps more than other musicians, with 88 keys of reference, are often influenced by the styles and techniques of those who have gone before and willingly acknowledge their mentors. To stand upon the shoulders of one genius is to allow one’s own unique, personal style to develop. Another young up-and-comer, Cardello plays a lyrical piano with hints of influence of Peterson, Brad Mehldau and Wynton Kelly. His “All of You” (Cole Porter) bordered on the symphonic, with rubato that created a musical story within a story.
Throughout the program, bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Carl Allen had been holding the rhythm fort with subtle, enhancing support. It was a treat to hear Ukeda forward in a duet with Charlap on “East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)” (Brooks Bowman). Charlap possesses dual brilliance: as a solo player and as a collaborator with ot
her musicians and also with vocalists. He’s intuitive, respectful and listens! With Ukeda, there were exquisite harmonies and counterpoint, a clever call-and-response and the grace of Ukeda’s own lyrical, melodic style.
Aside from solos during the evening, there were duets in various combination, but more fascinating, two numbers in which each piano had two players—eight hands making music. The first of these was “Bb Blues” (Thomas “Fats” Waller) and the second was the closer, Dizzy Gillespie’s bebop classic,”Woody’N You.” During this swinger, drummer Allen finally got to show his formidable chops in the spotlight. Most of all, the miracle of jazz in its improvisations, freedom of style and play, and deeply-rooted ethos in intuitive skills, came together with magical result. No matter the arrangement and the rehearsing, the ultimate choreography of eight hands on 176 keys produced a cohesive sound that lifted the energy in the room sky high. And isn’t this what music is all about?
