| Jazz |
For those of you who, like me, are passionate about Bill Evans, this newly released live album arrives just in time for the holiday season. It’s a top-quality recording, given new life on CD with masterfully enhanced sound, featuring the dream lineup of Evans with Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell. This set includes a mesmerizing version of “So What” that is bound to captivate listeners. Remastered at The Mastering Lab from the original stereo tapes held in the archives of the Kongsberg Festival, and pressed by the renowned Memphis Record Pressing, this concert has achieved legendary status among enthusiasts and collectors alike. For a long time, it was believed that no recording of this performance existed. The release also includes a comprehensive booklet with previously unpublished concert photos and specially written essays by Zev Feldman, Marc Myers, Eddie Gomez, Marty Morell, Craig Taborn, and Aaron Parks, along with an interview with Bill Evans conducted by Randi Hultin the day after the concert.
Here we find ourselves, a decade before the composer and pianist’s passing, with what is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful albums ever produced by Bill Evans. At this point, his often-lauded trio had truly hit its stride, perfectly honed, providing a rhythm section that gives a remarkable foundation to Evans’ compositions. The live ambiance, enriched by a discerning audience, adds a unique atmosphere to this album. In fact, it’s in these northern European countries that many of today’s great jazz musicians can be found. I think particularly of Magnus Öström, Nils Landgren, Lars Danielsson, and many others.
On this album, Evans appears freer than ever, underscoring his greatness as a performer. He always held fond memories of Leland, not for rigid methods or lessons full of scales and arpeggios, but for the freedom Leland allowed him. Thanks to this relaxed approach, young Bill developed a natural gift for sight-reading, displaying an uncommon ease with sheet music. Yet, in Leland’s eyes, it was his brother Harry, not Bill, who possessed the true pianist’s spirit.
At age seven, Bill ventured into the violin, then later dabbled in the flute and piccolo, which he soon abandoned. Strangely enough, the subtleties of these instruments left a subtle imprint on his piano playing. Later, he would speak of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, the masters whose works he played with both passion and reverence.
Then came high school, where he immersed himself in 20th-century music. Discovering Stravinsky’s *Petrushka* was a revelation for him—a “tremendous experience” that transported him to uncharted musical territories. Milhaud’s *Suite Provençale*, with its bitonal harmonies, further fueled his curiosity for bold and novel forms.
It was around this time that he first tasted the captivating rhythms of jazz, one evening, at twelve, as he listened in awe to the Tommy Dorsey and Harry James orchestras on the radio. At thirteen, his life took a pivotal turn when he filled in for a sick pianist in Buddy Valentino’s rehearsal band, where his brother Harry already played trumpet. Soon enough, Bill was familiar with New Jersey’s dance halls and weddings, playing boogie-woogie and polkas for a dollar an hour, charming his audience with festive rhythms.
In those years, he met Don Elliott, a multi-instrumentalist with whom he would form a lasting artistic bond. Together, they opened new musical horizons, crafting a unique language that would echo far beyond the dance halls where Bill first made his mark. This album is without a doubt one of the most beautiful documents on Evans ever released, moving us from the very first notes, overwhelmed by the applause—and rightly so—elevating this album to our list of essentials.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, November 11th 2024
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