The Last Waltz

William John "Bill" Evans , August 16, 1929 - September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mostly worked in a trio setting. Evans' use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.

This final recital has been previously released on Naxos Historical (review) and elsewhere, but the edition presented here uses tape from the original 1950 French Radio Broadcasting (R.T.F.). At this time of the performance Dinu Lipatti was very ill with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma from which he had been suffering since 1943, but cortisone treatment provided temporary relief, during which he was able to give two public performances: Mozart’s Concerto in C Major K.467 with Herbert von Karajan at the Lucerne Festival on August 23, and this solo recital at the 3rd Besançon International Music Festival on September 16.

Kurt Masur’s achievement is defined above all by his relationships with two orchestras exemplifying vastly different traditions. Having spent some 20 years as Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, which traces its roots to the 15th century, he became the transformational music director of the New York Philharmonic, an embodiment of the New World. Through all this, his musical integrity remained consistent. As the New York Times wrote: “He brought to the podium the ardent conviction that music-making was a moral act that could heal the world.”

For roughly half a decade, from 1968 through 1975, the Band was one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music embraced by critics (and, to a somewhat lesser degree, the public) as seriously as the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Their albums were analyzed and reviewed as intensely as any records by their one-time employer and sometime mentor Bob Dylan. Although the Band retired from touring after The Last Waltz and disbanded several years later, their legacy thrived for decades, perpetuated by the bandmates' respective solo careers as well as the enduring strength of the Band's catalog…

A Musical History is the second box set to anthologize Canadian-American rock group The Band. Released by Capitol Records on September 27, 2005 it features 111 tracks spread over five Compact Discs and one DVD. Roughly spanning the group's journey from 1961 to 1977, from their days behind Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan through the departure of Robbie Robertson and the first disbanding of the group. The set includes highlights from each of the group's first seven studio albums and both major live recordings and nearly forty rare or previously-unreleased performances…

With the passage of time, Bill Evans has become an entire school unto himself for pianists and a singular mood unto himself for listeners. There is no more influential jazz-oriented pianist only McCoy Tyner exerts nearly as much pull among younger players and journeymen and Evans has left his mark on such noted players as Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau. Borrowing heavily from the impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, Evans brought a new, introverted, relaxed, lyrical, European classical sensibility into jazz and that seems to have attracted a lot of young conservatory-trained pianists who follow his chord voicings to the letter in clubs and on stages everywhere.

The Band - Across The Great Divide (1994) {3 CD Box Set Capitol D207193}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.23 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 514 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 170 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1994 Capitol Records | D207193
Rock / Album Rock / Country-Rock / Folk-Rock / Psychedelic / Rock & Roll

Let face it… The Band brought new life to U.S. musical expression in the 60's after the British invasion. Across the Great Divide: continues that legacy. These're some of my favorite listening pieces, and as a longtime Band fan, I think matches the feel and diversity of "Americana roots" music that "The Band" brought to the ears of the world via North America. May these cuts carry on this traditional inspiration for musicians and music lovers everywhere.