“The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing”
Ecclesiastes 1:8
There’s definitely not a dearth of recordings by Bill Evans, but the question has to be, after Resonance Records has released its fifth release of previously unissued music by the legendary pianist in various stages of his career, is “can there be too much Bill Evans for the ears?”
My only answer is “NO”! And that’s coming from a guy who’s got all the Riverside, Fantasy and Verve boxed sets as well as the marathon sessions with the last trio of Evans with Johnson and La Barbera. Yes! I want MORE!
Bill Evans, like Miles, Getz, Ellington, Montgomery and Tatum (to name a few), are of the elite artistic group that, whether in transition or in a groove, they made amazing music
This latest collection is from the vaults of drummer Jack DeJohnette, and it has the trio of him with Evans and bassist Eddie Gomez from a series of gigs form their month long stay at the legendary London club Ronnie Scott’s back in 1968. Resonance previously released material of this trio as well as a 1969 pairing with Gomez and drummer Marty Morell. How much more can there be? My lips are smacking!
Here, the sound quality is a bit sharp, with DeJohnette’s drum a bit off the level of the rest of the team, but once your ears adjust, treasures abound. Gomez’s star shines brightly here, out in front on the melody of “Embraceable You” and “Autumn Leaves” and creating a nimble undercurrent with DeJohnette on “Waltz For Debbie”. He also gets some nice solos space, building up on “Emily (Version 1) ” and charming on “Turn Out The Stars”. DeJohnette’s brushes dance like Astaire on the dainty “Emily (Version 2)” and sizzling on “Very Early”.
As for Evans, he is in rococo form, relaxed on “You’re Gonna Hear From Me (Version 1)”, drop dead gorgeous winding with Gomez on “My Man’s Gone Now” and “Alfie” and introspective during his solo intro to “Quiet Now”. Dark shadows prevail on “Round Midnight” and a trip to the upper register is quite emotive on a delectable “Spring Is Here”.
This was a trio that seemed like a one-off during the day, as only one “real” album came from it. With this surfeit of unreleased recordings, we now see the threesome, as well as each individual musician, in a different light. DeJohnette proves he can swing with aplomb, Evan flexes his muscles and Gomez is the glue that keeps things together. Just keep them coming, and no one gets hurt.