"Pianist Bill Evans rarely had the opportunity to formally warm up before concerts," Bill Evans Trio drummer Joe LaBarbera told me. But he did on one particular occasion, in Paris, and it was recorded. [Image above of Bill Evans in 1979, courtesy of YouTube]
On November 26, 1979, the Bill Evans Trio (with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe on drums) appeared at L'Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris for two performances. The music would be broadcast in France and wind up on two albums—The Paris Concert, Edition One and Edition Two.
L'Espace Cardin was located in the Champs-Élysées Garden at 1 Av. Gabriel, just west of Place de la Concorde. Owned by French designer Pierre Cardin for 45 years, the building held a cinema/theater, exhibition space and restaurant, and the concert space could seat 673. In March 2016, the venue closed for renovations required by the city for security and the disabled. It tried to re-open in 2020, the year of Cardin's death, but permanently closed in 2023.
Joe continued:
To be sure, on tour we had plenty of sound checks, but in most instances these were brief. In the case of this particular concert in Paris, we needed to provide music so the engineer could get audio levels for the radio broadcast. Our performance that evening was going to air live.
Bill fell in love with the piano and played longer than necessary during the sound check. Then he played some more after the gig when he returned to the piano with his coat on. What a night. I even got to meet Kenny Clarke!
Listening to Evans produce music for the sound check is fascinating. It's a half hour of steamy trial and error, stream of consciousness, speed control and intensity. Early on, Evans works out on My Foolish Heart, testing out the piano and listening for flaws.
Then he shifts into playing two songs at once in a variety of keys— Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley's Who Can I Turn To and Leonard Bernstein's Lucky to Be Me. Even though neither song would be recorded that night, these songs were chosen to give the engineer what he needed.
He also took on Like Someone in Love, which he plays straight through. It's a beautiful rendition. Throughout, Evans in places seems captivated by the pure sound of the instrument.
Here's Bill Evans warming up for a half hour at L'Espace Cardin in November 1979...
A special thanks to Dave Thompson and Joe LaBarbera.