In Appreciation of Bill Evans
I’ve been on a bit of a Bill Evans tangent recently. If you’re going to be on a tangent, you could do a lot worse. I’ve been listening to a lot of Evans, mostly the Riverside records, and then I also put on Kind of Blue the other night and I recall thinking to myself that, in many ways, Kind of Blue sounds in some places more like an Evans album than a Miles album. I know there’s always been a bit of controversy about who actually wrote Blue In Green, but all it takes is a cursory listen to hear that it seems more Evans than Miles. Anyway, I’m not looking to open up old wounds or start new controversies. But I want to do two things: 1. Point you all to this very interesting article on the Influence of Evans, The Bill Evans Legacy, by Doug Ramsey in The Wall Street Journal the other day. It’s nice that his genius remains recognized and appreciated and still discussed in the mainstream media. 2: I wanted to post the great recording of My Foolish Heart from Waltz for Debby, just because I love it and wanted to share it with a bunch of my friends. So, enjoy:
I too have been on an Evans kick lately! I was lucky enough to find a VG+ first pressing of Waltz for Debby at a local record stores buried amongst a recent buy of Cannonball Adderly records. Apparently the store thought much more highly of the Cannonball LPs as the Evans cost me a whopping $13. One of my few ever scores.
🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2LFVWBmoiw
…Inspired recording Al ! Love that particular track… After I played it, I couldnt resist pulling a few more classic albums to listen to while reading the WSJ article you linked on what is an otherwise snowy winters eve:
(1.) Bill Evans live at the Top of the Gate
(2.) Bill Evens Trio – The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings
(3.)The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album
Thanks for sharing. Cheers !
Great Bill Evans link Michel !
this is a fantastic post, and a fantastic album!!!
Just discovered an album on Resonance Records called Pieces of Jade, featuring LaFaro as a bandleader. The album includes five selections recorded in New York City during 1961 with a 22 minute bonus track of LaFaro and Bill Evans practicing “My Foolish Heart” in late 1960 during a rehearsal.
Here’s the iTunes link:
https://itun.es/ca/5hp61
Well,
Have not been on the site for some time now and came back to check out all that is good. I see a Bill Evans posting from Al and decide to take off another great LP Not related to the interest of this site , ( The Zombies, Odessey & Oracle 1968) and throw on Riverside 12-223. Thanks for the reminder. Sweet.
That is a great Zombies record Joseph
Al: thank you for sharing. Doug R. has written a very interesting article. As for me, I am only now exploring beyond the Vill. Vang. recordings into his later work on Riverside. A nice surprise is the excellent sound quality of the Orpheum pressings.