*** Bill Evans ***

[Bill B]

The California Here I Come music is outstanding, as will as the, as yet, unreleased cuts of this trio that you will find on the Complete Verve Recordings. I heard a rumor that the entire live recordings were put out on two cds, released only in Japan (of course).

Not a rumor, a 4 CD set of the Vanguard recordings was released in Japan a couple of years ago. Available

for $19 per CD in US. These are 4 50 minute plus CDs.

[Shrdlu]

Never heard Caifornia ..., but I've always thought that a lot of Evans' best early playing was done with Philly Joe. I'll take Everybody Digs and Green Dolphin Street with PJ over the Lafaro/Motian trio sides anytime.

Bill did say that Philly Joe was his favorite drummer. (Boy would that have shocked my friends years ago as they drooled puristically over the Village Vanguard LPs and constantly panned Philly Joe! Don't get me wrong here: I love the VV material and Philly Joe. And I'd far rather have Philly Joe, or some other powerhouse drummer, behind me.)

[Matthew]

I've been really struck at how good Eddie Gomez is with Bill Evans, just seems such a nice simpatico feeling between the two. Gomez, when he does his solos is very tasteful, and well thought out. A good example is his solo on Embraceable You off At The Montreux Jazz Festival, really outstanding in musical ideas and execution.

[John Tapscott]

I agree with Matthew. Good observation about Gomez. Does anyone know why Evans considered the Johnson/LaBarbera trio his best since the VV trio? What was there about that group that Evans dug more than the Gomez/Morell trio? I always find it a bit surprising because from a listener's perspective I prefer the latter group - it's looser and more relaxed. To me, the Johnson/LaBarbera trio, while a group of very talented virtuosos never quite hooked up or swung like the earlier group. But maybe I'm missing something. Or perhaps it's because I'm not a big fan of LaBarbera - I find his drumming to be sometimes noisy and his long solos are to me, rather a bore.

[Matthew]

I agree with Matthew. Good observation about Gomez. Does anyone know why Evans considered the Johnson/LaBarbera trio his best since the VV trio? What was there about that group that Evans dug more than the Gomez/Morell trio? I always find it a bit surprising because from a listener's perspective I prefer the latter group - it's looser and more relaxed. To me, the Johnson/LaBarbera trio, while a group of very talented virtuosos never quite hooked up or swung like the earlier group. But maybe I'm missing something. Or perhaps it's because I'm not a big fan of LaBarbera - I find his drumming to be sometimes noisy and his long solos are to me, rather a bore.

More and more, I'm agreeing with John's opinion. There is something special about the Evans/Gomez/Morell trio that brings out great playing in Evans. Evans/Johnson/LaBarbera trio never seemed to hook up together all that well, in fact, there were a lot of numbers where Evans had Johnson/LaBerbera just sit out. I've come to the conclusion that Evans' best playing occurred during his Verve years -- that Verve box contains astoundingly beautiful music.

Edit: spelling and to take out some "in facts"

Edited May 21, 2007 by Matthew

[relyles]

mehldau is far better at incorporating, when he chooses too, bill's ideas into his playing than anyone i have heard.

i choose to think of it as respect rather than copying.

Interesting comment considering Mehldau often goes out of his way to downplay any comparisons between him and Evans.

[king ubu]

had one of my effin migraines/headaches yesterday and since the effin' neighbours kept bumpin' around on my head all the time I put on the Riverside solo session (discs 9 & 10 of the Riverside set).

Very, very fascinating! Some of it sounds hard, almost harshly played, while other parts are extremely soft and lyrical, and as usual, some of it swings pretty hard.

First time I played this date, by the way, will certainly & gladly return to it!

Is the OK story true, or some kind of bogus? It would explain a certain tension, maybe, but it sounds like it could've been made up to me...

[Teasing the Korean]

Does Bill Evans play piano (uncredited) on side 2 of the "David & Lisa" soundtrack album on AVA? Victor Feldman is the leader on the date, playing vibes, with piano bass and drums. The bass and drums are credited but not the piano. The melodic minor triads the piano player uses over minor ii-V-I progressions are very reminiscent of Bill Evans' playing at the time.

[Kalo]

mehldau is far better at incorporating, when he chooses too, bill's ideas into his playing than anyone i have heard.

i choose to think of it as respect rather than copying.

Interesting comment considering Mehldau often goes out of his way to downplay any comparisons between him and Evans.

Anxiety of influence.

[Big Al]

Never heard Caifornia ..., but I've always thought that a lot of Evans' best early playing was done with Philly Joe. I'll take Everybody Digs and Green Dolphin Street with PJ over the Lafaro/Motian trio sides anytime.

Bill did say that Philly Joe was his favorite drummer. (Boy would that have shocked my friends years ago as they drooled puristically over the Village Vanguard LPs and constantly panned Philly Joe! Don't get me wrong here: I love the VV material and Philly Joe. And I'd far rather have Philly Joe, or some other powerhouse drummer, behind me.)

Count me as another huge fan of Philly Joe's work with Evans. CHIC and EDBE especially, but don't forget the lovely QUINTESSENCE, with Harold Land, Kenny Burrell, and Ray Brown. A beautiful session, and my favorite Evans quintet record.

[king ubu]

Today's Evans' birthday - coincidentally I've been playing his music all day yesterday, this morning, and plan to continue until tomorrow...

I started out with the post-LaFaro dates on Riverside and am now coming to the end of the last disc. I like both the Israels/Motian and the Israels/Bunker trios a lot. The solo session has some very fine moments, too. The quintets though don't really work... at least the one with Hubbard leaves me pretty cold, the one with Zoot has some moments...

Bill Evans, August 16, 1929 - September 15, 1980

At the end of summer of that year, Bill asked his drummer Joe LaBarbera to drive him to the hospital, since he was having severe stomach pains. He calmly directed Joe to Mount Sinai, checked in, and died there the 15th of September.

There's a lenghty profile over on AAJ.

[king ubu]

continuing my Evans marathon... (I reported about listening to the second half of the Riverside and most of the Verve boxes in the "what box set are you listening to right now"-thread).

Played "Piano Player", the Sony CD with an unreleased Evans/Gomez duo session from 1970 to start - pretty nice, I must say!

So there I've got a question: "The Bill Evans Album" seems to be gone (on amazon marketplace from 20-100$...)

How is that one? Worth searching?

Now playing the Fantasy box, almost done with the Tokyo concert on disc 1 - a mighty fine, swinging set!

[Daniel A]

"The Bill Evans Album" seems to be gone (on amazon marketplace from 20-100$...)

How is that one? Worth searching?

Depends on what you think of Evans on the Fender Rhodes, there's plenty of that. He often switches between the instruments within most of the tracks. Mostly good playing, perhaps sometimes a bit hurried. I never regret getting this, but I think there's greater Evans elsewhere.

[king ubu]

"The Bill Evans Album" seems to be gone (on amazon marketplace from 20-100$...)

How is that one? Worth searching?

Depends on what you think of Evans on the Fender Rhodes, there's plenty of that. He often switches between the instruments within most of the tracks. Mostly good playing, perhaps sometimes a bit hurried. I never regret getting this, but I think there's greater Evans elsewhere.

... most of which I have... otherwise I wouldn't be asking about this one. Thanks for your reply, Daniel. I'll look for it but won't go places or pay a lot.

[king ubu]

Playing the "Alone (Again)" session for the first time. Wow! Some intensely swinging piano on the first tracks (incl. "In Your Own Sweet Way"), then there's that old favourite again, "What Kind of Fool Am I" (also done on the Milestone solo session).

Very nice, so far, and some more proof if needed, that Bill could swing, even playing solo!

Last night I finally delved some into the "Secret Sessions" box, playing the material from 1966 with drummer Arnie Wise and Eddie Gomez (Teddy Kotick on the very first session). Very good stuff, too! Definitely glad I got the set! (But OK's liners, including him stylizing himself to the second musical authority just after Helen Keane... man, that guy is so full of shit! I am thankful for all the great albums he produced and for the artists he supported with Riverside in longtime partnerships, like Wes, Cannonball, Monk, Bill Evans, but hey, if there hadn't been any great artists around, there'd be no OK... while he always makes it sound as if he's an equal partner in all the musicians' oeuvre... even beyond the period he actually supervised their recording sessions, in this case...)

[Daniel A]

Sometimes a bit rambling, and Steve Allen's introduction is... well, but there are also a few fine moments with Bill at the piano (starting a few minutes into part 2):

The Universal Mind of Bill Evans

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

[Peter Johnson]

Another post to the Concord sale made me realize the existence of the Bill Evans' "complete" Fantasy box set. Another thread here goes into some detail (pushed by Michael Fitzgerald) about the fact that this box is not actually complete, but doesn't really discuss the music/sound. Not being familiar with Evans' Fantasy output (but having nearly everything else he ever recorded), can you folks talk to me about this set? Worth it?

Thanks.

[jazzbo]

The material on this set is very interestng. I love almost all the playing.

The sound is more than adequate. Frankly, if it were released today it would probably sound better. Clearer, crisper. But it sounds decent for its vintage, it's sin is of omission, that is it is not overly bright or compressed.

[WorldB3]

In case anybody here missed it or was on the fence about buying it, I can't recommend the Jazz Icons: Bill Evans - Live in '64-'75 DVD enough.

The middle period sometimes gets overlooked but there was no drop off at all. The sound and footage on the DVD is fantastic, if you haven't spent time with Bill in a while like I had and want to fall in love again with his work get the DVD.

Edited June 10, 2009 by WorldB3

[king ubu]

Still have to look for those Jazz Icons... I like what you call middle period Evans a lot, those Verve albums are great!

I still haven't thoroughly listened to the Fantasy set, but I have played most of it over the past years, and it sounded good to me, both musically as well as sound-wise. I'd probably still consider it the least interesting period in Evans' recorded output, but that doesn't mean much, as it's still Evans!

[jazzbo]

Can you say "I think I'd like it."

I knew that you could.

[Late]

This is becoming one of my favorite Bill Evans albums.

[jlhoots]

2 minutes ago, Late said:

This is becoming one of my favorite Bill Evans albums.

[Peter Friedman]

I admit to a bias against lengthy bass solos where the bass player stays primarily in the upper register and seems to want to be a guitar player. My preference is for a big bottom sound for the bass with full round notes that provide a swinging accompaniment.

So this means that Eddie Gomez is not one of my favorite bass players. While I understand that Bill Evans wanted a bass player to engage in a dialog with him, I would have preferred he play far more often with Sam Jones or other bass players in that vein.

In the 1970's, when I was living in Rochester, New York, the Bill Evans Trio with Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell came to town for a week long gig. I spent 2 nights at the club sitting right in front of the band stand. Bill was wonderful, but , for the most part, the long bass solos by Gomez quickly became tedious, and I kept wishing he would play less.

Marty Morell was a decent drummer, but generally added little of interest to the trio. I also liked Philly Joe with Evans, and also thought Larry Bunker and Joe LaBarbera were better than Morell. 

[jlhoots]

49 minutes ago, Peter Friedman said:

I admit to a bias against lengthy bass solos where the bass player stays primarily in the upper register and seems to want to be a guitar player. My preference is for a big bottom sound for the bass with full round notes that provide a swinging accompaniment.

So this means that Eddie Gomez is not one of my favorite bass players. While I understand that Bill Evans wanted a bass player to engage in a dialog with him, I would have preferred he play far more often with Sam Jones or other bass players in that vein.

In the 1970's, when I was living in Rochester, New York, the Bill Evans Trio with Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell came to town for a week long gig. I spent 2 nights at the club sitting right in front of the band stand. Bill was wonderful, but , for the most part, the long bass solos by Gomez quickly became tedious, and I kept wishing he would play less.

Marty Morell was a decent drummer, but generally added little of interest to the trio. I also liked Philly Joe with Evans, and also thought Larry Bunker and Joe LaBarbera were better than Morell. 

Eliot Zigmund was good too.