There's much to say about the final Bill Evans Trio. Formed in early 1979, with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe La Barbera on drums, the trio was at times stormy, brooding and always deeply passionate. Many of their live recordings were strong and revealing, particularly performances in Buenos Aires and Paris and at Iowa's Maintenance Shop and New York's Village Vanguard. As Evans sailed slowly and purposefully toward his final days in September 1980, Marc and Joe were in sync with the pianist's many moods, but in their own creative spaces. Evans's playing at times was hard and frustrated and at others delicate, as if emulating the sound of a gentle rain. His piano following the suicide of his brother, Harry, in April '79, sounded like a cry for forgiveness, not help. There seemed to be a raging battle with Bill between the heart of the inner artist begging to survive and the weary, pained brain begging to check out.
Joe La Barbera was both an eye-witness to Evans's last 21 months and a participant in the great music the trio produced. His new book, Times Remembered (University of North Texas Press), is out now and sheds light on the events that took place. Much of the narrative is from Joe's recollections of the music and travels, supplemented by interviews with Evans by journalists during this period to fill in the blanks.
I saw this trio on several nights in June 1980 at the Village Vanguard, as documented on the box set Turn Out the Stars. On one of those evenings, I sat at the table directly behind Evans, a foot or so from his back, allowing me to watch him play over several sets. It was a revelation. After Evans died on September 15, 1980, I went to his memorial at St. Paul's Church at the base of New York's Citicorp Building with a single rose. I placed it on the altar. That's how deeply I felt about Evans's music, which has long had an influence on the cadence of my writing style. Joe's drumming with Evans was always sensitive and firm, especially his brushwork, providing an eclectic rhythmic foundation for Evans to play off of and giving the listener sparkle and splash under Evans's keyboard.
I caught up with Joe last week. Here's our back and forth:
JazzWax: Tell me about your Bill Evans audition in late 1978. Guitarist Joe Puma had recommended you?
Joe La Barbera: He did. In September 1978, Bill parted with his drummer, Philly Joe Jones. He was recording Affinity with jazz harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans. One night while I was playing with Toots at Hopper’s in New York, Bill came in with his manager Helen Keane, to hear the show. Toots greeted them warmly. Guitarist Joe Puma played with Bill back in the 1950s and had mentioned to Bill that he should check me out.
JW: Were you looking to join the Bill Evans Trio?
JLB: At the time, I really didn’t want another road gig since I had previously spent a year with Woody Herman and four years with Chuck Mangione. I was recently married and wanted to stay put in New York, picking up some session work and local jazz gigs. Since I had been listening to Bill from my early teens, I was confident that I could play his music.
JW: Bill and Helen must have been impressed, yes?
JLB: In January 1979, Helen called and asked me to audition with the trio at the Village Vanguard. It was a thrill just to play a live set with him. A week or so after the set, I received a phone call from Helen asking me to make a two-week gig with him in Philadelphia. From then on, I was in.
JW: What did you notice early on that was unusual about Bill and how he played in a trio setting?
JLB: First of all, there was never any pre-gig discussion of the music and never any rehearsals. Bill would just start playing and it was up to you to find a way to fit in. He expected that you were either familiar with his work or had good intuitive instincts. His command of the piano, full concentration and intensity were remarkable.
JW: What were your impressions of Helen Keane?
JLB: I knew instantly that she was not to be messed with. She was tough and protective of her artist in every way. At the same time, personable and totally professional.
JW: Was touring with Bill good for your marriage? Did being away on the road cause stress?
JLB: My wife and I had been married for a year when I joined Bill, so she was used to the away time that comes with being a jazz musician. Work with Bill was steady, so that went a long way to easing the pain of being apart, especially after my wife became pregnant.
JW: What specifically made your Bill Evans Trio different from earlier ones?
JLB: I put it down to the personalities, really. Every one of Bill’s trios had some magic happening. But for some reason, Bill felt a very strong connection with bassist Marc Johnson and me. It not only came out in his playing but also in his passion for writing. He started to compose again. Right time, place and people.
JW: How many pianists subbed for Bill on gigs? Just Marc Copeland?
JLB: Marc Copeland subbed for Bill in Washington, D.C., after Bill’s brother Harry committed suicide in April 1979. The audience was understandably disappointed about Bill’s absence but very appreciative of Marc’s playing. And near the very end of Bill’s life in September 1980, Andy LaVerne subbed for Bill at Fat Tuesday’s in New York. Once again, the audience stayed in their seats and were appreciative.
JW: Looking back, do you feel you really knew Bill Evans, the person? Or did his personal communication come solely through the music?
JLB: I feel I did know Bill well because I spent more time with him off the bandstand. We shared a lot of common history, although a generation apart. We were both Boy Scouts as kids, both served in an Army band, both played with a big band and we enjoyed so many of the same artists. The most revealing conversation we had was about commitment to your art.
JW: What did you talk about?
JLB: Bill could have done anything with music really, from studio work to musical director to professor. But he was committed to playing jazz. We talked about some current musicians who were branching out into more lucrative areas of the business and achieving great success. Bill was non-judgmental, simply saying that they made that choice. In 1955, he had turned down an offer from Tony Martin for $25,000 a year to play a 17-week commitment without batting an eye.
JW: Where did you talk—in clubs between gigs or on a plane during tours?
JLB: I used to stay with Bill at his apartment in Fort Lee, N.J., whenever I worked in the city, whether it was a gig with him or someone else. I would cook for both of us so this was probably over breakfast or lunch. We had some great talks about his time with Miles too.
JW: What did you learn about yourself playing with Bill?
JLB: I reaffirmed my commitment to jazz when I decided that I had to be in his trio after the gig in Philadelphia. The feeling the three of us had playing together was so strong that I simply could not turn it down. I believe I grew musically in every way with Bill. He gave you complete freedom to play his music the way you were hearing it.
JW: Were you constantly afraid Bill was going to get busted on tour?
JLB: I wouldn't say constantly but there were two incidents that are in the book that came very close. I was truly more afraid of his health than a bust.
JW: All fans wonder the same thing: Why couldn’t anyone stop him from the self-destructive using?
JLB: Miles Davis once said that you can’t talk someone out of a habit unless they want to quit. Bill and I had several short discussions about his habit, but he was reluctant to reveal much. He always referred to it as a “personal problem.” We all tried to get him to stop, starting with bassist Scott LaFaro at the dawn of the 1960s. But Bill was resolute. It must have given him something, but I can’t honestly say what that was. Drugs certainly did not improve his ability or his artistry. He earned those through hard work and dedication. The joy he was experiencing with Marc and me is what brought him out more. He started to announce tunes and was visibly elated on the stage at times.
JazzWax tracks: Here's an hour of the Bill Evans Trio with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe La Barbera on drums at the Maintenance Shop in Ames, Iowa, in January 1979...
Joe La Barbera was both an eye-witness to Evans's last 21 months and a participant in the great music the trio produced. His new book, Times Remembered (University of North Texas Press), is out now and sheds light on the events that took place. Much of the narrative is from Joe's recollections of the music and travels, supplemented by interviews with Evans by journalists during this period to fill in the blanks.
I saw this trio on several nights in June 1980 at the Village Vanguard, as documented on the box set Turn Out the Stars. On one of those evenings, I sat at the table directly behind Evans, a foot or so from his back, allowing me to watch him play over several sets. It was a revelation. After Evans died on September 15, 1980, I went to his memorial at St. Paul's Church at the base of New York's Citicorp Building with a single rose. I placed it on the altar. That's how deeply I felt about Evans's music, which has long had an influence on the cadence of my writing style. Joe's drumming with Evans was always sensitive and firm, especially his brushwork, providing an eclectic rhythmic foundation for Evans to play off of and giving the listener sparkle and splash under Evans's keyboard.
I caught up with Joe last week. Here's our back and forth:
JazzWax: Tell me about your Bill Evans audition in late 1978. Guitarist Joe Puma had recommended you?
Joe La Barbera: He did. In September 1978, Bill parted with his drummer, Philly Joe Jones. He was recording Affinity with jazz harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans. One night while I was playing with Toots at Hopper’s in New York, Bill came in with his manager Helen Keane, to hear the show. Toots greeted them warmly. Guitarist Joe Puma played with Bill back in the 1950s and had mentioned to Bill that he should check me out.
JW: Were you looking to join the Bill Evans Trio?
JLB: At the time, I really didn’t want another road gig since I had previously spent a year with Woody Herman and four years with Chuck Mangione. I was recently married and wanted to stay put in New York, picking up some session work and local jazz gigs. Since I had been listening to Bill from my early teens, I was confident that I could play his music.
JW: Bill and Helen must have been impressed, yes?
JLB: In January 1979, Helen called and asked me to audition with the trio at the Village Vanguard. It was a thrill just to play a live set with him. A week or so after the set, I received a phone call from Helen asking me to make a two-week gig with him in Philadelphia. From then on, I was in.
JW: What did you notice early on that was unusual about Bill and how he played in a trio setting?
JLB: First of all, there was never any pre-gig discussion of the music and never any rehearsals. Bill would just start playing and it was up to you to find a way to fit in. He expected that you were either familiar with his work or had good intuitive instincts. His command of the piano, full concentration and intensity were remarkable.
JW: What were your impressions of Helen Keane?
JLB: I knew instantly that she was not to be messed with. She was tough and protective of her artist in every way. At the same time, personable and totally professional.
JW: Was touring with Bill good for your marriage? Did being away on the road cause stress?
JLB: My wife and I had been married for a year when I joined Bill, so she was used to the away time that comes with being a jazz musician. Work with Bill was steady, so that went a long way to easing the pain of being apart, especially after my wife became pregnant.
JW: What specifically made your Bill Evans Trio different from earlier ones?
JLB: I put it down to the personalities, really. Every one of Bill’s trios had some magic happening. But for some reason, Bill felt a very strong connection with bassist Marc Johnson and me. It not only came out in his playing but also in his passion for writing. He started to compose again. Right time, place and people.
JW: How many pianists subbed for Bill on gigs? Just Marc Copeland?
JLB: Marc Copeland subbed for Bill in Washington, D.C., after Bill’s brother Harry committed suicide in April 1979. The audience was understandably disappointed about Bill’s absence but very appreciative of Marc’s playing. And near the very end of Bill’s life in September 1980, Andy LaVerne subbed for Bill at Fat Tuesday’s in New York. Once again, the audience stayed in their seats and were appreciative.
JW: Looking back, do you feel you really knew Bill Evans, the person? Or did his personal communication come solely through the music?
JLB: I feel I did know Bill well because I spent more time with him off the bandstand. We shared a lot of common history, although a generation apart. We were both Boy Scouts as kids, both served in an Army band, both played with a big band and we enjoyed so many of the same artists. The most revealing conversation we had was about commitment to your art.
JW: What did you talk about?
JLB: Bill could have done anything with music really, from studio work to musical director to professor. But he was committed to playing jazz. We talked about some current musicians who were branching out into more lucrative areas of the business and achieving great success. Bill was non-judgmental, simply saying that they made that choice. In 1955, he had turned down an offer from Tony Martin for $25,000 a year to play a 17-week commitment without batting an eye.
JW: Where did you talk—in clubs between gigs or on a plane during tours?
JLB: I used to stay with Bill at his apartment in Fort Lee, N.J., whenever I worked in the city, whether it was a gig with him or someone else. I would cook for both of us so this was probably over breakfast or lunch. We had some great talks about his time with Miles too.
JW: What did you learn about yourself playing with Bill?
JLB: I reaffirmed my commitment to jazz when I decided that I had to be in his trio after the gig in Philadelphia. The feeling the three of us had playing together was so strong that I simply could not turn it down. I believe I grew musically in every way with Bill. He gave you complete freedom to play his music the way you were hearing it.
JW: Were you constantly afraid Bill was going to get busted on tour?
JLB: I wouldn't say constantly but there were two incidents that are in the book that came very close. I was truly more afraid of his health than a bust.
JW: All fans wonder the same thing: Why couldn’t anyone stop him from the self-destructive using?
JLB: Miles Davis once said that you can’t talk someone out of a habit unless they want to quit. Bill and I had several short discussions about his habit, but he was reluctant to reveal much. He always referred to it as a “personal problem.” We all tried to get him to stop, starting with bassist Scott LaFaro at the dawn of the 1960s. But Bill was resolute. It must have given him something, but I can’t honestly say what that was. Drugs certainly did not improve his ability or his artistry. He earned those through hard work and dedication. The joy he was experiencing with Marc and me is what brought him out more. He started to announce tunes and was visibly elated on the stage at times.
JazzWax tracks: Here's an hour of the Bill Evans Trio with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe La Barbera on drums at the Maintenance Shop in Ames, Iowa, in January 1979...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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