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Bill Evans Trio: Everybody Digs Bill Evans
ByEvans is as much choreographer as principal player on the date, using one of the choruses of "Night and Day" to showcase in succession unaccompanied drums, then bass, and finally piano. And when it's his turn, the pianist executes one of those right-handed "discrete portamentos" unique to his pianistic skills, connecting the lower and upper registers in a single broad sweep yet fingering each rapidly played note with uniform clarity and optimal richness.
"Peace Piece," one of the most popular recordings of Evans' career, is an adventure in sheer minimalism, as daring as it is exquisite. Not yet a major "star" among the field of post-Powell pianists, Evans nevertheless plays less like the newest challenger than a secure and commanding artist with nothing to prove. Even Sonny Rollins' "Oleo," which follows, is not taken at customary flag-waving speed. The pianist, moreover, appears to "cue" the entrances of Philly Joe, discouraging the drummer from ramping up the tune into a conventional bebop burner.
The more straight-ahead, swinging player is in evidence on Gigi Gryce's "Minority," but even here the pianist exercises restraint, placing as much emphasis on the dynamic contouring of his melodic lines and on figures played in thirds or major sevenths as on single-note "blowing" piano. As a result, the crystalline poignancy of the ballads that follow is less a change in mood than the continuation of a unified tone poem.
With its varied tempos, rhythms and programming, Everybody Digs Bill Evans sustains interest without allowing the listener for a moment to mistake the singular, inimitable voice of the leader. It's not hard to understand why many Evans followers, "casual" and otherwise, list it as their favorite of the pianist's recordings. It's doubtful there's a more introspective, meditative trio set on record, yet the pianist shows he can dance as well.
Track Listing
Minority; Young and Foolish; Lucky To Be Me; Night and Day; Epilogue; Tenderly; Peace Piece; What Is There To Say?; Oleo; Epilogue; Some Other Time.
Personnel
Bill Evans
pianoBill Evans: piano; Sam Jones: bass; Philly Joe Jones: drums.
Album information
Title: Everybody Digs Bill Evans | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Riverside
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