Bill Evans Tenderly

Everybody Digs Bill Evans was a landmark recording for the young pianist and sported a unique album cover, featuring written-out endorsements from Miles Davis, George Shearing, Ahmad Jamal, and Cannonball Adderley. At a time approximate to when Evans was performing with the famous Kind of Blue band of Davis, Adderley, and John Coltrane, and actually departing the band, Evans continued to play the trio music he was ultimately best known for. With the unmatched pair of former Miles Davis drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Sam Jones (no relation), Evans was emerging not only as an ultra-sensitive player, but as an interpreter of standards second to none…

The legend of Bill Evans really begins with this album, his second. The pianist had just spent most of 1958 as part of one of the major units in jazz history: the Miles Davis Sextet that also featured John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley. His fellow musicians already knew his worth (the album title was almost literally accurate, and the four endorsements on the cover, which embarrassed Bill, could easily have been greatly multiplied); with this record, the jazz public began to follow their lead. Aided by Sam Jones and Philly Joe Jones, Evans set down some of his most swinging trio sides, but the session would be memorable if it had only yielded the remarkable and haunting solo improvisation called "Peace Piece."

Bill Evans & Don Elliott - Tenderly: An Informal Session (1956-1957) {Milestone 0025218931724 rel 2001}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 159 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 136 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956-57, 2001 Milestone Records / Fantasy | 0025218931724
Jazz / Cool / Modal Music / Piano / Vibes

Bill Evans, the pianist, and Don Elliott, the multi-instrumentalist, were longtime friends and colleagues. They had a band together when they were New Jersey teenagers in the mid-1940s. During Evans’ period of heavy freelance work a decade later, he frequently played in his old pal’s group. The music on this CD comes from tapes recorded by Elliott in his home studio during 1956 and 1957 as the two worked out ideas. An Informal Session, the CD’s subtitle accurately calls it. The occasional car horn filters in from outside. We plainly hear Evans straining to bend a song to his conception. We hear the musicians’ comments and laughter. “That was fun. You were cookin’, man,” Evans tells Elliott.

Tony Scott & Bill Evans - A Day In New York (1957) {2CD Set, Fresh Sound FSR-CD 333 rel 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 770 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 312 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 61 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 2003 Fresh Sound Records } FSR-CD 333
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Modal Music / Piano / Clarinet

Tony Scott led several small groups of various sizes during the month of November 1957, resulting in three separate LPs being issued by Seeco, Carlton, and Perfect without duplicating any of the 24 tracks. This Fresh Sound two-CD set collects everything recorded during these sessions. Scott's core group features pianist Bill Evans (not long after he was discharged from military service), either Milt Hinton or Henry Grimes on bass, and drummer Paul Motian. In addition to his powerful clarinet, Scott plays a potent baritone sax on six selections.

Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1958) {2007 Riverside} [Keepnews Collection Complete Series] (Item #6of27)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 243 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 117 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 316 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remastering
© 1958, 2007 Concord / Riverside | 0888072301825
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Cool / Piano

Remastered in 24-bit from the original master tapes. Part of our Keepnews Collection, which spotlights classic albums originally produced by the legendary Orrin Keepnews. The legend of Bill Evans really begins with this album, his second. The pianist had just spent most of 1958 as part of one of the major units in jazz history: the Miles Davis Sextet that also featured John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley.