Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard

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• EVANS BILL SUNDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD

Music reviews of Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Music Review: Scotty steals the show (just about)!
Rating: 5 Stars

It should perhaps be stated at the outset that any of these remarks also apply to the album _Waltz for Debby_, which consists of takes culled from the same live sessions as _Sunday at the Village Vanguard_. Definitely get that one concurrently with this. It makes no sense to not have both.

For me, probably the greatest pleasure in this music is listening to Scott LaFaro's bass playing (maybe that's because I'm a bass player, I don't know). The mix has him more or less front and center, even in front of Bill's piano, and Scott's playing is inspired and deserves such treatment. Most people first mention his virtuosic high-speed upper-register runs, but there's also his sonorous double-stops and strummed chords, and just listening to him hold down a single whole note is wonderful. But he never pulls away and "steals the show" overtly, because everything he plays is so rooted in interaction and response with Bill's piano. Listening to LaFaro's strength, sensitivity, and total command of his instrument is just a total joy to behold.

Evans' playing, too, was never better, I think, than on these recordings. His uncanny knack of extracting the essence of tunes and laying down "definitive" versions of them is in full effect here. Paul Motian's drumming seems quite in the background; I hardly ever notice him. In the quiet tunes, for instance, he mostly seems to work the cymbals with brushes to create atmosphere. All in all, he plays an effective supporting role.

My personal favorite moments on these albums are the contemplative, haunting masterworks that are the trilogy of quieter songs: "My Foolish Heart", "I Loves You, Porgy" (which are from _Waltz for Debby_ ) and "My Man's Gone Now", plus Scott LaFaro's "Jade Visions." I'd almost regard it as something like blasphemy for any other group to play that song. It's just so untouchable, and elegiac; as though Scott wrote his own eulogy without knowing it (he was killed in a car accident ten days after these recordings were made). And the "simultaneous improvisation" (I think some critic cooked up that phrase) this group achieves is really special. It's at a level that was never achieved on this trio's two prior studio LPs, _Portrait in Jazz_ and _Explorations_. Obviously, the spirit was just right on June 26, 1961 at the Vanguard, and these three wonderful musicians play brilliantly as an inspired unit. "Solar" is a prime example of this: listen to how the solos run; you can hardly tell at any given moment who's soloing and who's comping.

For most jazz albums, the "alternate takes" you get on the CD releases seem kinda "pesky" to me; I could easily stick with just the master takes without any distractions. But in this case, I'm quite grateful for the alternate takes that round out these discs. It just means even more unique moments of special music by this wonderful trio. I dislike cliches as much as anyone, but hey, desert island discs, for sure, these two. Don't miss out.

Description of Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Jazz CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop