Bill Evans Trio - The Last Waltz, The Final Recordings [2000] (8 x CDs)

JAZZ SUNDAY

BILL EVANS TRIO

Bill Evans Trio - The Last Waltz, The Final Recordings [2000] (8 x CDs)

A profoundly moving, 'unreleased' document of the last days of Bill Evans, one of the great artists of jazz piano. Evans, who knew that his end was near (he died the following week), made every note count in these stirring 1980 performances. Recorded over eight nights at San Francisco's Keystone Corner, these recordings find Bill rethinking, reconfiguring and revitalizing the key pieces of his career, both standards and originals; he plays six versions of ex-employer Miles Davis's Nardis plus But Beautiful; Autumn Leaves; Emily; Mornin' Glory; Letter to Evan , and more. 65 unreleased, incredibly poignant performances on 8 CDs.

This eight-CD set was recorded at San Francisco's Keystone Korner between August 31 and September 8, 1980, just a week before Evans's death on September 15. With Evans were bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. It was an unusually well-balanced rhythm team for the pianist, perhaps the best combination of talents since he first developed his trio style with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian two decades before. They provide Evans with responsive support that can shift from the quietest underpinnings to aggressive stimulation. There's often a characteristic movement here from introspective solo passages to vigorous trio dialogues that shows just how hard Evans could swing when he had the right drummer.

Largely a final encounter with Evans's key repertoire, the set includes multiple versions of his favorite pieces, like the ballads "But Beautiful," "My Foolish Heart," and "Emily," and his own "Letter to Evan" and "Turn Out the Stars," perennial stimulants for his profound harmonic imagination. But there are also then-recent compositions that never reached the recording studio, like "Yet Ne'er Broken," the repeating "Your Story" with its subtle underlying movement, and "Knit for Mary F." The signature "Nardis" is heard in six different versions, each of them compelling and each a distinct exploration, from a crisp seven-minute version to a concluding performance that stretches to nearly 20. Evans introduces the third version: "We've learned from the potential of the tune, and every once in a while, a new gateway opens and it's like therapy." Each of the longer versions is a structure for extended solos by each trio member. Evans's own improvisations are concentrated in extended unaccompanied introductions, stretching to a sublime seven minutes on the final version.

The set is a treasure trove for Evans enthusiasts, inviting close and extended listening and rewarding it with the subtlest inventions and variations. There are rare depths here that represent some of his greatest recorded work. (Amazon)

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Track list

CD1

01 Bill Evans Trio After You 2:41

02 Bill Evans Trio Like Someone In Love 6:56

03 Bill Evans Trio Polka Dots & Moonbeams 7:03

04 Bill Evans Trio Emily 5:43

05 Bill Evans Trio Turn Out The Stars 9:14

06 Bill Evans Trio I Do It For Your Love 6:33

07 Bill Evans Trio Nardis 7:18

08 Bill Evans Trio But Beautiful 4:50

CD2

01 Bill Evand Trio Yet Ne'er Broken 6:40

02 Bill Evand Trio Knit For Mary F 7:03

03 Bill Evand Trio The Touch Of Your Lips 5:29

04 Bill Evand Trio My Man's Gone Now 6:52

05 Bill Evand Trio Turn Out The Stars 6:31

06 Bill Evand Trio Your Story 5:12

07 Bill Evand Trio Nardis 17:41

CD3

01 Bill Evand Trio Peau Douce 5:43

02 Bill Evand Trio Yet Ne'er Broken 6:08

03 Bill Evand Trio My Foolish Heart 5:13

04 Bill Evand Trio Up With The Lark 5:52

05 Bill Evand Trio Turn Out The Stars 8:01

06 Bill Evand Trio I Do It For Your Love 6:07

07 Bill Evand Trio Nardis 15:55

08 Bill Evand Trio Noelle's Themei Loves You Porgy 7:30

CD4

01 Bill Evand Trio Yet Ne'er Broken 6:06

02 Bill Evand Trio Spring Is Here 4:16

03 Bill Evand Trio Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) 6:00

04 Bill Evand Trio Letter To Evan 6:44

05 Bill Evand Trio If You Could See Me Now 5:28

06 Bill Evand Trio The Two Lonely People 6:43

07 Bill Evand Trio A Sleepin' Bee 5:18

08 Bill Evand Trio Haunted Heart 4:49

09 Bill Evand Trio Five 4:19

CD5

01 Bill Evand Trio Re Person I Knew 4:02

02 Bill Evand Trio Tiffany 5:36

03 Bill Evand Trio Polka Dots And Moonbeams 6:16

04 Bill Evand Trio Like Someone In Love 7:02

05 Bill Evand Trio Your Story 4:26

06 Bill Evand Trio Someday My Prince Will Come 7:05

07 Bill Evand Trio Letter To Evan 6:28

08 Bill Evand Trio My Romance 9:15

09 Bill Evand Trio But Beautiful 4:03

CD6

01 Bill Evand Trio Mornin' Glory 3:59

02 Bill Evand Trio Emily 4:59

03 Bill Evand Trio Knit For Mary F 6:25

04 Bill Evand Trio Days Of Wine And Roses 7:46

05 Bill Evand Trio Up With The Lark 5:19

06 Bill Evand Trio My Foolish Heart 4:17

07 Bill Evand Trio Nardis 15:17

08 Bill Evand Trio But Beautiful 3:50

CD7

01 Bill Evand Trio Foolish Heart 4:03

02 Bill Evand Trio Nardi 17:47

03 Bill Evand Trio Mother Of Earl 5:04

04 Bill Evand Trio If You Could 5:49

05 Bill Evand Trio My Man's 4:36

06 Bill Evand Trio Who Can I Turn 6:05

07 Bill Evand Trio Waltz 6:20

08 Bill Evand Trio Springs Is Here 3:51

09 Bill Evand Trio Five 3:53

CD8

01 Bill Evand Trio Letter To Evan 8:07

02 Bill Evand Trio My Man's Gone Now 6:27

03 Bill Evand Trio 34 Skidoo 6:27

04 Bill Evand Trio Spring Is Here 4:44

05 Bill Evand Trio Autumn Leaves 5:39

06 Bill Evand Trio Knit For Mary F 6:31

07 Bill Evand Trio Nardis 19:35

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