Charlap was born in New York City, the son of Broadway songwriter Moose Charlap and singer Sandy Stewart. Charlap began playing the piano at age three, and studied classical music before turning to jazz. In 1993, Charlap released his first album as leader, “Along With Me”, and since then has gone on to play with a variety of jazz greats, notably Ron Carter, Bill Stewart and Tony Bennett among others. He was part of The Blue Note 7, a septet to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Blue Note records. Charlap has recorded several albums for the label as a solo artist, and with the Bill Charlap Trio alongside longtime collaborators bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington.
