Max Bill Maillart

The Velvet Underground - Live at Max's Kansas City (2016) {Atlantic-Rhino Remaster}
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© 2015, 2016 Cotillion / Atlantic / Rhino / Warner | 081227950736
Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Proto-Punk / Rock & Roll / Alternative / Experimental Rock

“Good evening, we’re called the Velvet Underground. You’re allowed to dance, in case you didn’t know, and…uh, that’s about it. This is called ‘Waiting for the Man,’ a tender folk song from the early ’50s about love between man and subway, and I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it.” The preceding words were selected by Lou Reed as his opening salvo when the Velvet Underground took the stage of Max’s Kansas City in New York City on August 23, 1970… and, in turn, they were the words that the band’s fans heard within seconds of putting on Side One of the Velvet Underground’s first live album, Live at Max’s Kansas City, which was released 42 years ago today.

From Miles Davis' Doo-Bop to albums by Greg Osby and Steve Coleman, much of the "jazz/rap fusion" released has been more hip-hop than jazz – essentially, hip-hop with jazz overtones. Bill Evans, however, has featured rappers in much the way a hard bopper would feature a singer – on "Reality" and the poignant, reggae-influenced "La Di Da," rapper Ahmed Best successfully interacts with an actual, spontaneous, improvisatory band instead of merely pre-recorded tracks. Best's rapping style – a cerebral approach akin to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest instead of more hardcore rappers like Tupac Shakur and Ice-T – is well-suited to this challenging and complex jazz-fusion setting.

Bill Evans Trio - Turn Out The Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings, June 1980 {6CD Box Set Warner 9 45925-2 rel 1996}
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© 1980, 1996 Warner Bros. | 9 45925-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano

Just three months before his death, pianist BIll Evans was extensively recorded at the Village Vanguard. Originally, one or two LPs were to be released featuring his brilliant new trio (with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera), but after the innovative pianist's death, the project was stalled for over 15 years. Finally, when Warner Bros. got around to it, a definitive six-CD box set was released (although unfortunately in limited-edition form). Evans sounded quite energized during his last year, Johnson was developing quickly as both an accompanist and a soloist, and the interplay by the trio members (with subtle support from LaBarbera) sometimes bordered on the telepathic. The playing throughout these consistently inventive performances ranks up there with the Evans-Scott LaFaro-Paul Motian trio of 20 years earlier.