Mother-Son Duo Makes Perfect Harmony

Mother-son duo Bill Charlap and Sandy Stewart perform songs by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, among others.

When Sandy Stewart and Bill Charlap get together to talk, their ease with each other is apparent.

"Hiya, baby. I'm sending you a big hug," says Stewart, a cabaret singer.

She is speaking to her son from a studio in Florida. Bill Charlap, a renowned jazz pianist, is at a studio in New York City.

Their easy harmony is heard in the recording of jazz standards they created together. Love Is Here To Stay was released by Blue Note Records in 2005.

It has wistful, meditative renditions from the American songbook including "The Boy Next Door," "It Might As Well Be Spring," and "A Sleepin' Bee."

Charlap, whose made many critically acclaimed recordings with his trio, says he remembers his mother singing to him as a child. Stewart was featured on early television shows of Perry Como, Ed Sullivan, and Steve Allen.

His father, and Stewart's late husband, Moose Charlap, was a Broadway composer whose works include "Peter Pan."

NPR's Liane Hansen, host of Weekend Edition Sunday, spoke to Stewart and Charlap about their collaboration.

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