Bill Evans - The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings

On June 25th, 1961, Bill Evans and his trio made jazz history over the course of five sets at the Village Vanguard. Selections from those performances were released on two full-length LPs, Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard, both of which went on to become landmark jazz albums from the era. This three-disc set provides a valuable service by presenting all five sets in their complete and original sequence, with crisp remastered sound, a previously unissued take (Scott LaFaro's "Gloria's Step"), and snippets of on-stage patter.

Much has been made of the chemistry between Evans, bassist LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian, and little of it has been overblown. The three make intuitive, shape-shifting music that breaks new ground with its subtle, sophisticated rhythmic interplay and achingly lyrical beauty. Evans's playing, informed by a Chopin-esque delicacy as much as by post-bop dynamism, is a case study of the jazz ideal achieved. The music, the improved sound, and the chance to have the complete date under one cover make this set a must. ”

This is the remastered set that features 20 bit k2 super coding. It is the complete days worth of recording of this legendary session, warts and all. One of the warts is a 3 second power outage during the first part of disc one-- it's not a defect in the ripping or the the cd itself, just part of the recording.


tracklist

DISC 1:
1. Spoken Introduction
2. Gloria's Step - (take 1, interrupted)
3. Alice in Wonderland - (take 1)
4. My Foolish Heart
5. All of You - (take 1)
6. Announcement and Intermission
7. My Romance - (take 1)
8. Some Other Time
9. Solar

DISC 2:
1. Gloria's Step - (take 2)
2. My Man's Gone Now
3. All of You - (take 2)
4. Detour Ahead - (take 1)
5. Discussing Repertoire
6. Waltz For Debby - (take 1)
7. Alice in Wonderland - (take 2)
8. Porgy (I Loves You, Porgy)
9. My Romance - (take 2)
10. Milestones

DISC 3:
1. Detour Ahead - (take 2)
2. Gloria's Step - (take 3)
3. Waltz For Debby - (take 2)
4. All of You - (take 3)
5. Jade Visions - (take 1)
6. Jade Visions - (take 2)
7. ... A Few Final Bars

Bill Evans, p
Scott LaFaro, b
Paul Motian, d

Recorded June 25th, 1961 at the Village Vanguard, New York