Bill Evans: Blue in Green

Bill Evans Trio - Portrait In Jazz (1959) {2008 Riverside} [Keepnews Collection Complete Series] (Item #26of27)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 313 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 144 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 305 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remastering
© 1959, 2008 Concord / Riverside | 0888072306783
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano

Orrin Keepnews' commentary (from his new liner notes): “This turned out to be the easiest Bill Evans record session I was ever involved in. The trio's initial working repertoire consisted entirely of material that he wanted to record but had not yet attempted; I probably would have preferred having more than two originals, having not yet fully realized that his ability to reconstruct and revitalize old and often over-familiar standards was one of his more important contributions to the jazz vocabulary.”

The first of two studio albums by the Bill Evans-Scott LaFaro-Paul Motian trio (both of which preceded their famous engagement at the Village Vanguard), this Portrait in Jazz reissue contains some wondrous interplay, particularly between pianist Evans and bassist LaFaro, on the two versions of "Autumn Leaves." Other than introducing Evans' "Peri's Scope," the music is comprised of standards, but the influential interpretations were far from routine or predictable at the time. LaFaro and Motian were nearly equal partners with the pianist in the ensembles and their versions of such tunes as "Come Rain or Come Shine," "When I Fall in Love," and "Someday My Prince Will Come" (which preceded Miles Davis' famous recording by a couple years) are full of subtle and surprising creativity. A gem.

This three-CD box set from Not Now features remastered editions of three important Evans albums originally released by Riverside in the mid- to late ‘50s: 1956’s New Jazz Conceptions (Evans’ debut as a leader, featuring Teddy Kotick on bass and Paul Motian on drums), 1958’s Everybody Digs Bill Evans (recorded upon the pianist's departure from Davis’ landmark Kind of Blue sextet, and featuring bassist Sam Jones and drummer Philly Joe Jones), and 1959’s Portrait in Jazz (featuring his first working trio, with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Motian). If introspection became a byword during the latter part of his life, in earlier days Bill Evans did swing with the best of them, his more thoughtful moments carrying much weight as his choice of note/chord and placement thereof became crucial to a composition or solo. He also passed master as an accompanist, not only for what he did play but - almost as importantly - what he didn't.

In its ongoing series of reissues under the Double Time Jazz Collection moniker, Eagle Eye Media has put together two tribute shows on one DVD that demonstrate how a conception that is reverent yet forward-thinking can work wonderfully in one instance, and somewhat less-so in another. Tribute to John Coltrane: Live Under the Sky is an almost relentless, take-no-prisoners homage to Coltrane that works because it tries to take his music to a new place that is nevertheless respectful of its roots. Tribute to Bill Evans: Live at the Brewhouse is less successful because, while the musicianship is uniformly excellent, the lineage to Evans is less direct.