By 1961, pianist Bill Evans had been rolling with his classic trio for a couple of years; this short-lived group, featuring drummer Paul Motian and bassist Scott LaFaro, was the same trio that recorded his much-celebrated Sunday at the Village Vanguard set, which continues to be cited as a highlight of Evans’ career and live jazz records as a whole. This trio would be cut short, however, with the death of LaFaro just ten days after the Village Vanguard set was recorded, subsequently causing Evans to cease performing for several months in mourning. Persuaded to return to music by Riverside record producer Orrin Keepnews, Evans appeared on vocalist Mark Murphy’s 1961 album Rah, as well as a short solo piano session, and Evans’ work in music continued long after that.
Tag Archive: Bill Evans
“Jazz is my religion,” once declared beatnik poet Ted Joans. “I know and feel the message it brings.” Throughout its expansive and enduring history, jazz has attached itself to countless different styles; it has been torn apart and reinvented in countless different ways. But that message has always remained the same, and it has always resonated with the hearts and souls of audiences across the world. Jazz, at its core, is the music of freedom, and Bill Evans’ 1962 work Interplay is as captivatingly, inventively free as they come.
Recorded in New York City in the summer of 1962, Interplay expertly captures the exciting spirit of that period in the city’s musical progression. Rising from its vibrant concrete streets, a seemingly endless array of inventive jazz…
Moon Beams marked an important moment for Bill Evans. Recorded in 1962, it was his first trio album following the sudden death of bassist Scott LaFaro, whose intuitive style had shaped much of Evans’ earlier sound. Rather than returning with something bold or experimental, Evans chose a softer approach-an album built almost entirely around ballads. It’s reflective and unhurried, showing a pianist more interested in exploring emotion than making a statement. As part of Craft Recordings – Original Jazz Classics series, Moon Beams is being reissued on 180-gram vinyl from lacquers cut from the original stereo tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
From the opening track, “Re: Person I Knew,” you can sense the quiet intimacy Evans was chasing.