Bill Evans -

Date: June 25, 1961
Release: Riverside #3RCD44432
Cover Art: view / download
Buy the Album

Ah…Bill Evans. Everybody loves Bill Evans, right? But who was he really? Clean-cut, mild-mannered, Clark Kentishly bespectacled with track marks up and down his arms, he tapped out aching incantations to bewitch us forever. An impenetrably enigmatic guy, Bill Evans the man remains irrelevant, a messenger for something bigger than his own biography. So do yourself a favor and forget about what people have to say about Mr. Bill. Just turn down the lights and let the music do its thing.

Three discs worth of manna—this is an essential set of recordings that too many people still haven’t heard, and thus merits yet another review. The Village Vanguard recordings, featuring the incomparable rhythm section of bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, forever redefined the art of the piano trio. The songs are all ordered in the sequence they were recorded, adding a more authentic quality. Tragically, it would be the trio’s final recording, as LaFaro was killed in an automobile accident only ten days later. Released across various albums over the years, all the music recorded on that mythical Sunday, June 25, 1961 is collected here for the first time in one complete package.

In June 1961, the Vanguard charged $2.50 for admission, with the Sunday Matinee ticket price discounted to $1.50. However paltry this sum might seem today, it must have been large enough to discourage New Yorkers from turning out in droves. Though countless fans have experienced these recordings through the years, the club was lonely the night Bill Evans and his trio remade history. Lovingly remastered, this boxed-set takes you as close to being there as is possible without a time machine. And while the cost of experiencing these concerts is steeper than that the original price of admission, it’s well worth every penny.

Here is your chance to posses something truly sublime. Don’t think about it.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.