Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bill Evans: The Best Of Bill Evans

552

Bill Evans: The Best Of Bill Evans

By

View read count
Bill Evans: The Best Of Bill Evans
How does one rate good execution of a flawed concept?

The Best Of Bill Evans is the latest in an abundant number of compilations claiming to capture the piano legend's finest work in a disc or two. Such albums almost never capture the range of any landmark performer, especially since most play on multiple labels and much of their material is unavailable for single-label compilations such as this.

Also, anyone looking for one Evans album arguably is better off with either the landmark Waltz For Debby or the companion Sunday At The Village Vanguard. Like buying Kind Of Blue instead of some "best-of" Miles Davis compilation, they offer a higher quality and more intimate look of Evans at his peak.

That said, this latest mid-budget release by Fantasy Jazz may be the best single-disc "best-of" Evans album and an ideal second exposure. Listeners with no interest in expanding their collection further will get some insight into the range of Evans' playing, while those interested in additional exploration can use it as a reference for formats most likely to appeal to them.

The fourteen-song collection has three major strengths: 1) it covers the peak of his development and career from 1956 to 1963, with one song from each of Evans' albums selected by longtime friend and producer Orrin Keepnews; 2) quality often prevails over familiarity as a number of lesser-known songs are included; and 3) notes from Keepnews about each of the tracks appear within.

Listeners won't hear development as much as variety. His progression from Bud Powell-like bebop to his famous trios focusing on melodic playing with greater interaction is evident for those listening for it, but the song selection doesn't attempt to define him that way. Two versions of his best-known ballad, "Waltz For Debby," open the album, for instance, followed early on by the up-tempo percussion showpiece "Night And Day." The little-known live performance of the blues-bop "Swedish Pastry" that closes the album shows that Evans hadn't abandoned the playing of his earlier days.

Inclusion of the stunningly brilliant solo ballad "Peace Piece," overlooked far too long among Evans' achievements, is proof of the focus on quality. Similarly, "You And The Night And The Music" is one of the best songs on 1962's Interplay Sessions, featuring trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and guitarist Jim Hall on the first Evans album with horns. There's a few times where standards prevail over more interesting material, such as "Time Remembered" instead of several other possibilities from 1962's Loose Blues (a recording featuring Hall and tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims that went unreleased until 1982).

To give a near five-star collection of songs a lower rating because it's a compilation may seem unfair, but ultimately The Best Of Bill Evans is a less interesting listen for casual audiences than most of the albums it borrows from. Still, it beats most other compilations it's likely to blend with indistinctly in record bins and Fantasy deserves credit for going beyond the usual quick-money budget release effort.

Track Listing

Waltz for Debby (solo), Waltz for Debby (quartet), Our Delight, Night and Day, Peace Piece, Woody'n You (take 2), Blue in Green, Nardis, My Romance, If You Could See Me Now, You and the Night and the Music, Time Remembered, Everything Happens to Me, Swedish Pastry

Personnel

Performers on various tracks include Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Larry Bunker, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, Jim Hall, Percy Heath, Freddie Hubbard, Chuck Israels, Philly Joe Jones, Sam Jones, Connie Kay, Teddy Kotick, Scott LaFaro, Paul Motian, and Zoot Sims

Album information

Title: The Best Of Bill Evans | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Fantasy Jazz

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.