Charles Chen: Charles, Play!

Pianist Charles Chen makes his recorded debut and confidently answers the command on Charles, Play!, a splendid quartet date on which he is ably supported by veteran tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore and the peerless rhythmic tandem of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington.

Chen wrote four of the album's nine engaging numbers and had the good sense to pair them with three pleasurable standards and tantalizing originals by Charlie Parker ("Passport") and Cedar Walton (the closing "Simple Pleasure"). Chen's compositions are "Peter and the Big Bad Wolf" (inspired, of course, by Sergei Prokofiev's classical masterwork), "Swing State" (think "Indiana"), "Chopin" (no elaboration needed) and "Golson," a swinging salute to the legendary tenor saxophonist and composer Benny Golson.

Chen shows his mastery of the ballad on "These Foolish Things," his high-speed sagacity on "Swing State" (wherein Kenny Washington's agile brush work is exemplary). As for Moore, he is sharp and comfortable in any mood or tempo, painting colorful sound-pictures that quicken the heart and broaden the mind. Add the Washingtons and you have a quartet that is hard to match. Chen is at the center of it all, comping proficiently and soloing with perception and assurance.

The studio date opens with a high-spirited version of Ralph Freed and Burton Lane's "How About You?" and segues into a sunny bossa treatment of the Mario Lanza keynote, "Be My Love." Chen and Co. are warm and responsive on "These Foolish Things," focused and buoyant on "Swing State." Suffice to say that nothing slides downhill afterward, from the well-grooved "Passport" through the melodically impressive "Simple Pleasure." A noteworthy debut by a talented young pianist worth keeping an eye on and his admirable quartet.

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