bill evans Archive
27 Mar 2018
Seven Jazz Archival/Reissue Releases

Monty Alexander – Here Comes the Sun (MPS) Jamaican pianist Alexander has a bright, flowing and lyrical approach to his instrument. Originally released in 1971, Here Comes the Sun was Alexander’s sixth album. Working with three other musicians (bass, drums and percussion), the pianist is at the center of the arrangements on all seven of
11 May 2016
New Jazz Archival Titles from Resonance/Elemental, Part 1

Lovers of the classic era in jazz and/or modern jazz owe a debt of gratitude to Zev Feldman. The head of a pair of modern-day jazz labels (Resonance and Elemental) has been exceedingly busy of late, rescuing heretofore unheard recordings of great historical import. Kicking off with a bang a mere four years ago, Feldman
23 Oct 2015
Album Review: Bill Evans — The Complete Fantasy Recordings

Bill Evans was a singular figure in the world of music, and even more so within the context of the jazz idiom. His music could never quite be described as inviting; most all of his piano compositions and recordings have an insular quality. Listening to Evans, a listener might even experience a feeling of unease,
01 May 2015
Album Review: The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings
Vocal great Tony Bennett and jazz piano legend Bill Evans both had long, successful and impressive musical careers by the time they decided to collaborate. The pair met in the studio on two separate occasions – the first for three days in June 1975, the second for four days in September of 1976 – and
28 Aug 2013
August Jazz Roundup #2
The esteemed Concord Music Group continues its series of thoughtful reissues of jazz classics from its catalog holdings with five titles originally issued on the Riverside label. I covered Chet Baker Plays the Best of Lerner & Loewe back at the beginning of the month; here’s some quick looks at the other four in this
14 Nov 2012
The Very Best Of…Concord Jazz Artists
Because Concord Music Group has acquired the licensing to some of the most venerable labels in all of music (Stax, Fantasy, Riverside, Prestige, and others) as well as large chunks of the work of some of the world’s most important artists (Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra), they have – in addition to their excellent reissues
13 Nov 2012
Catching Up With Modern Jazz, Part Two
A quick roundup of some notable jazz releases, from your friendly neighborhood jazz novitiate who nonetheless knows what he likes… Toots Thielemans – Yesterday & Today (Universal Music) My first – and for many years only – exposure to the Belgian harmonica player’s music was his work on Billy Joel‘s kinda cheesy “Leave a Tender
02 Aug 2012
Album Review: Bill Evans – Live at Art D’Lugoff’s Top of the Gate
The music of Bill Evans (and The Bill Evans Trio) is perhaps not the best place for a novitiate to begin exploring jazz. Evans’ approaches to phrasing and melody are not rooted in traditions that will feel familiar to fans of rock, blues, soul, country, gospel or pop music. With regard to phrasing, the late
18 Jul 2011
Album Review: Concord’s Latest “Definitive” Collections
Concord is at it again, but this time with a bit of a twist. Drawing upon the increasingly deep catalogs under their control, the label has compiled several entries in the Definitive series. The work of artists for labels now associated with Concord have been collected to showcased with an aim toward providing comprehensive introductions
07 Jul 2011
Album Review: Cannonball Adderley with Bill Evans – Know What I Mean?
As I’ve confessed elsewhere on this blog, by most reasonable standards I’m a jazz newbie. Yes, I did buy Weather Report’s Heavy Weather LP when I was in high school. And it’s true that in my early college days I was the recipient of some handed-down Chick Corea jazz improvisation LP (though at the time
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