Home » Jazz Articles » Bill Evans
Jazz Articles about Bill Evans
Bill Evans Trio: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
by Jim Santella
With one and a half hours of material, this three-disc box set proves invaluable. It brings the classic Bill Evans Trio into focus for an evening of modern jazz that's played the way it's supposed to be played. You can relish every nuance of this session because it's not loud, forceful, flashy, or intense. No, Bill Evans didn't design his creations so that you would have your socks knocked off by dramatic intensity. He gave us something to enjoy night ...
Continue ReadingBill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
by C. Andrew Hovan
Certain quintessential works of art, like Van Gogh's “Starry Night or Munch's “The Scream, have been iconic and universal in their appeal to a worldwide audience. Much in the same manner, jazz has its own share of legendary recordings that have become widely appreciated, from Benny Goodman's famous appearance at Carnegie Hall in 1938 to Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue (1959) or John Coltrane's A Love Supreme (1965). To that choice list of essential releases, few would argue that the ...
Continue ReadingBill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
by Michael McCaw
Certain recordings have a sense of wonder, an overwhelming feeling that permeates everything going on and controls the listener's situation. Such is the case with Waltz for Debby and Sunday at The Village Vanguard, which have long been held in high regard as seminal recordings that nearly define the sound of the piano trio even today.These seminal recordings of Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, and Paul Motian, the last by this trio (culled from June 25, 1961 performances) have ...
Continue ReadingBill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
by C. Michael Bailey
The Wish Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you..., Matthew 7:7 (KJV) In 2001, I took a poll of All About Jazz contributors to determine the Top Ten Best Live Jazz Recordings. This poll corresponded with my previously completed series The Top Ten Best Live Rock Recordings. These two article series have recently been reformatted, archived, and republished as: Best Live Jazz Recordings (1953-65), Best ...
Continue ReadingBill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961
by AAJ Staff
The consummate pianist's pianist, if you had to pick only one from the history of jazz, would have to be Bill Evans. Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson certainly have their thing, but their style is more elaborate technique than raw invention, and its very baroque nature tends to obscure its message. Evans, on the other hand, was cool and direct, with the cleanest harmony, the greatest intimacy, and the most stunning interactive improvisation. All these superlatives merely serve to emphasize ...
Continue ReadingBill Evans Trio: Sunday At The Village Vanguard & Waltz for Debby
by C. Michael Bailey
To look at Bill Evans in the 1950s and '60s, one might think that he was the most unlikely looking jazz titan to ever depress a piano key. Thin and bespectacled with a dweeb's haircut, Evan's was the picture of a bookish intellectual. He was well versed in the European Impressionism of Les Six and Debussy, deftly folding that introspection into performances of the American Musical Canon, as well as his own classic compositions. Serious about his craft, doubtful of ...
Continue ReadingMiles Davis: Kind of Blue
by Jim Santella
Columbia's latest release of this essential album includes the original liner notes by Bill Evans, a new liner note essay by Robert Palmer, a bonus track alternate take of “Flamenco Sketches," a 25-minute documentary DVD on Kind of Blue, and the original music itself. It sounds as good today as it did 46 years ago. In the words of television journalist and jazz devotee Ed Bradley, “It's as strong today as it was for me in ...
Continue Reading
