The best Bill Evans recordings were made live without his knowledge or in Europe. In both cases, he was most loose and lyrical, taking risks with his art to elevate piano pieces to impossibly higher melodic and harmonic standards. I should point out that in my opinion, there are no bad Evans albums, just great and superb. But for me, there is another level even higher—poetically perfect.
Many of Evans' great albums and even some of his superb ones have flaws—too many ballads, for example, or rushed executions and uptight renditions. On others, you can hear Evans' disinterest and grouchiness. The fact is, Evans didn't like the uptight rigidity of recording studios and the need for retakes. He was even less motivated by the pressure of judgmental live recordings in the States. Nevertheless, most listeners would need a careful ear and years of attentive listening to identify these minor imperfections, since most Evans recordings are superb in spite of his moods.
As for poetically perfect, his most interesting albums for me are Bill Evans: The Secret Sessions and Waltz for Debby: The Complete 1969 Pescara Festival. In the case of the former, a boxed set, these recordings were made at the Village Vanguard between 1966 and 1975 without his knowledge and reveal a fascinating, experimental side. In the second case, this concert was recorded in Italy for broadcast on the radio. However, Evans and his manager, Helen Keane, were outraged when two Japanese labels released different portions of the concert.
I'm not going to bore you with a blow-by-blow explanation as to why these two recordings are poetically perfect. In short, they are wonderfully paced, elegantly energetic and capture Evans taking creative chances without constraint or anxiety. If pushed, I might add Evans' Live at Lulu White's in Boston in 1979 to my list of the cut-above Evans recordings. But that's for another post.
Evans died in September 1980.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Bill Evans: The Secret Sessions (Fantasy), an 8-CD box, here. You'll find Waltz for Debby: The Complete 1969 Pescara Festival (Fresh Sound) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's I Should Care from The Secret Sessions...
Here's The Shadow of Your Smile...
You'll find more clips from the Secret Sessions box here.
As for Waltz for Debby: The Complete 1969 Pescara Festival, you can give a listen here...
Many of Evans' great albums and even some of his superb ones have flaws—too many ballads, for example, or rushed executions and uptight renditions. On others, you can hear Evans' disinterest and grouchiness. The fact is, Evans didn't like the uptight rigidity of recording studios and the need for retakes. He was even less motivated by the pressure of judgmental live recordings in the States. Nevertheless, most listeners would need a careful ear and years of attentive listening to identify these minor imperfections, since most Evans recordings are superb in spite of his moods.
As for poetically perfect, his most interesting albums for me are Bill Evans: The Secret Sessions and Waltz for Debby: The Complete 1969 Pescara Festival. In the case of the former, a boxed set, these recordings were made at the Village Vanguard between 1966 and 1975 without his knowledge and reveal a fascinating, experimental side. In the second case, this concert was recorded in Italy for broadcast on the radio. However, Evans and his manager, Helen Keane, were outraged when two Japanese labels released different portions of the concert.
I'm not going to bore you with a blow-by-blow explanation as to why these two recordings are poetically perfect. In short, they are wonderfully paced, elegantly energetic and capture Evans taking creative chances without constraint or anxiety. If pushed, I might add Evans' Live at Lulu White's in Boston in 1979 to my list of the cut-above Evans recordings. But that's for another post.
Evans died in September 1980.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Bill Evans: The Secret Sessions (Fantasy), an 8-CD box, here. You'll find Waltz for Debby: The Complete 1969 Pescara Festival (Fresh Sound) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's I Should Care from The Secret Sessions...
Here's The Shadow of Your Smile...
You'll find more clips from the Secret Sessions box here.
As for Waltz for Debby: The Complete 1969 Pescara Festival, you can give a listen here...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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