SALT LAKE CITY — Two of the premier pianists of the jazz world, husband and wife Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes, will open the 24th year of the Jazz SLC concert series, on Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Capitol Theatre.
Joining forces for their first appearance in the series, Charlap and Rosnes will perform music from their first collaborative album, "Double Portrait."
“It’s a big deal for us to open the series,” Charlap said by phone from the couple's New Jersey home. “Renee and I are excited to bring work from our first collaborative album to the Salt Lake audience.”
"Double Portrait" has received high praise for the almost casual and organic quality exhibited by Charlap and Rosnes. One need only listen to the playful teasing in the duo’s performance of Lyle May’s whimsical composition “Chorinho” to see. It is a beautiful marriage of jazz and classical music infused with the energy of two pianists who are extraordinarily simpatico.
The genesis for this album dates back to the couple’s first encounters with each other.
“It’s interesting how we met,” Charlap said. “We’d known about each other for a long time. Then in 2003, we were touring Japan as part of a program that featured 10 well-known pianists.”
“We got to know each other as friends and the relationship blossomed into something else,” Rosnes said, completing the thought.
If the idea of working, living and traveling daily with one’s spouse sounds overwhelming, it’s not the case with Charlap and Rosnes. Together they compose, arrange, live, tour and breathe jazz music.
“We’re pretty much inseparable,” Rosnes said. “Even when we’re at home between concerts, we relax by playing music on the two Steinways we have facing each other in the living room.”
“I guess it doesn’t surprise me that we first connected through our music,” Charlap said. “I used to listen to the radio and I’d hear this amazing piano player and I’d ask who it was. Almost invariably, the guys would say that it was Renee.”
What attracted Charlap to Rosnes was the similarity he heard in the melodic interpretations of her compositions.
“And when we began to play together, our styles just seemed to blend together, and over the years we’ve developed a repertoire that highlights both our strengths,” he said.
Their collaboration on "Double Portrait" exemplifies this intimacy that is both conversational and familiar. One can’t help but feel as though they are eavesdropping on two old friends in private communion in the language of jazz.
“Whenever we have time on our hands, we flush out our songbook at home," Charlap said. "It might sound crazy to others, but it’s the way we decompress.”
“Now that the children are grown and out of the house, we have more time to experiment," Rosnes added. "True, we enjoy eating out, watching good movies and gardening, but our real relaxation revolves around our music. It’s how we converse with each other.”
Gordon Hanks, founder of the Jazz SLC series, is excited about the Charlap-Rosnes duo opening the concert series.
“We were thrilled to find out that Bill and Renee were available for our opening concert," he said. "Watching them play together onstage and listening to them is like watching a prima ballerina dance. They make things look so easy. The audience is in for a real treat.”
If you go …
What: Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes in concert
When: Saturday, Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South
How much: $29.50 for general, $10 for students with an I.D.
Web: jazzslc.com
Jeff Metcalf is a professor of English at the University of Utah and an avid jazz fan.