Earlier this year, I posted on Bill Evans: Treasures, a stunning collection of material recorded in Denmark between 1965 and 1969. As I wrote then about the precious material discovered by dogged producer Zev Feldman [photo above of Bill Evans in Milan, Italy, in 1965, by Roberto Polillo]
One of the most important discoveries of previously unissued live performances by pianist Bill Evans was released on Friday. Mind you, most of Evans's live performances qualify as being very good to excellent. But "Bill Evans, Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings From Denmark (1965-1969)" (Elemental Music) is especially spectacular. There was something about Denmark that brought out the best in Evans, who plays on a majority of this two-CD/three LP set with a relaxed, measured calm and a beauty that exceeds most of his other live recordings.
Now comes the sister release from Elemental Music: Bill Evans: Tales - Live in Copenhagen (1964), featuring the pianist with one of his finest trios on two different dates during one of his finest years in a country that loved him best. There's also a bonus track from 1969 in Denmark with a different trio.
As I write in the new release's liner notes:
You're holding in your hands the earliest known recording of Bill Evans performing in Europe. Recorded in the summer of 1964 during his first tour abroad with a trio, these 10 previously unreleased tracks were captured in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. The tracks also are remarkable for being among the very finest work by this ensemble. There's even a standard that was recorded here for the first time and never appeared in the Evans discography again.
If you dig Bill Evans, you're probably most familiar with this Chuck Israels-Larry Bunker trio through the albums The Bill Evans Trio "Live" from May 1964 and Trio '65, along with the video of their March 1965 performance in London on the BBC-TV's Jazz 625, which aired in May 1965. On the new release, 10 of the album's tracks are from August 1964. Chuck joined the trio shortly after Scott LaFaro's fatal car crash in July 1961 and Bunker joined on drums in 1963 after Paul Motian's departure. [Photo above, from left, of Chuck Israels, Bills Evans and Larry Bunker by David Redfern]
On Bill Evans: Tales, we hear Waltz for Debby, My Foolish Heart, How My Heart Sings, Sweet and Lovely, I Didn't Know What Time It Was (the song Evans never recorded again) and Five (Theme), recorded at Danish Radio in Copenhagen on August 10, 1964.
Then we hear My Foolish Heart, How My Heart Sings, Sweet and Lovely and Five (Theme), recorded at TV City in Copenhagen on August 25, 1964.
Finally, there's a bonus track, featuring 'Round Midnight, with Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums, recorded in Stakladen, Aarthus, Denmark, on November 21, 1969.
The 1964 material showcases Evans at his most relaxed and lyrical, with occasional block chords, silky runs, gorgeous chord voicings and intensive, poetic ballads. The ideas seem to pour right out of him in a steady flow. Chuck and Bunker also are superb, and the bonus track 'Round Midnight, is brooding but with just the right sense of nocturnal drama.
Producer Zev Feldman continues to amaze. Thanks to his tireless efforts to tap into his broad global network of collectors and archivists, and his ability to work deals that enable him to share his beautifully mastered discoveries with the world, we are indeed fortunate. Each of these releases has an extraordinary and untold backstory of determination, generosity and mutual compromise. For the fan, it's a glorious time to love jazz.
Bill Evans died in 1980; Larry Bunker died in 2005.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Bill Evans: Tales - Live in Copenhagen (1964) (Elemental Music) here.
And you'll find Bill Evans: Treasures (1965-1969) (Elemental Music) here.
JazzWax tracks: Here's I Didn't Know What Time It Was...
And here's the earlier How My Heart Sings...
