The Bill Evans

Bill Evans At Town Hall (1966). This LP is a superior effort by Bill Evans and his trio in early 1966. The last recording by longtime bassist Chuck Israels (who had joined the Trio in 1962) with Evans (the tastefully supportive drummer Arnold Wise completes the group), this live set features the group mostly performing lyrical and thoughtful standards. Highlights include "I Should Care," "Who Can I Turn To," and "My Foolish Heart." The most memorable piece, however, is the 13-and-a-half-minute "Solo: In Memory of His Father," an extensive unaccompanied exploration by Evans that partly uses a theme that became "Turn Out the Stars"…

The first of two albums recorded at the legendary final appearance of the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Vanguard, these recordings have long been recognized as capturing the unique interaction that characterized the trio of Evans, LaFaro and Motian. This new edition of Sunday at the Village Vanguard is released as part of the OJC Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. It is presented in a Tip-On Jacket. This reissue features remastered audio from the original master tapes and also is available on 192/24 hi res digital.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard is the initial volume of a mammoth recording session by the Bill Evans Trio, from June 25, 1961 at New York's Village Vanguard documenting Evans' first trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. Its companion volume is Waltz for Debby. This trio is still widely regarded as his finest, largely because of the symbiotic interplay between its members. Tragically, LaFaro was killed in an automobile accident ten days after this session was recorded, and Evans assembled the two packages a few months afterward. While "Waltz for Debby" - in retrospect - is seemingly a showcase for Evans' brilliant, subtle, and wide-ranging pianism, this volume becomes an homage, largely, to the genius and contribution of LaFaro…

This set is one of two albums recorded by the Bill Evans Trio (with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell) at Copenhagen's Montmartre on one night in 1969 but not released initially until the late '80s. Evans sounds relaxed and swinging playing his usual repertoire. All of the songs (mostly standards) have been recorded by Evans at other times but the pianist's many fans certainly will not mind hearing these "alternate" versions of such tunes as "How Deep Is the Ocean," "How My Heart Sings," "Sleepin' Bee" and a light-hearted "California Here I Come."