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This set cooks. Every jazz fan knows who Bill Evans is and if you don't then you've been living in a cave far too long. Absolutely essential jazz. One of the best piano trio records of all-time. "Portrait In Jazz" released in 1959, which had to be the biggest year in jazz history, is one of Bill's finest recordings. Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian help support Evans here and do a brilliant job.
"Portrait in Jazz" is an absolute necessity for anyone who loves Bill Evans, or anyone who wants to understand why so many of us do. Evans, LaFaro and Motian are simply unmatched in their cohesiveness and supreme ability to listen and respond instantly to one another's improvisational threads and evolving harmonic and melodic ideas. I'll be brief: Bill Evans is, in my esteem, the most devastatingly moving piano player ever to walk this earth. He is at his absolute best here, full of subtle, deep emotional expression and swinging hard with the rhythm section, often at the same time.
As some writers have said, he seemed to distill beauty and nostalgia out of thin air. It is simply gorgeous, intelligent music. Most of Bill Evans' work is great and timeless. Much of it, like this record, transcends jazz or any other stylistic category.
If you need to delve deeper into what Bill was doing at the time, The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 is a must buy companion, but this album a cornerstone of any serious jazz collection. This has lots of classic jazz standards and despite being recorded in the early days of stereo, the sound is terrific. This is, for me, the quintessential Bill Evans album. Bill's trio finally had settled into their groove, and man, could they swing.
This was definitely a high point for Evans, before drugs, bad health and personal problems got in the way. The playfulness brought to standards like Witchcraft is a welcome contrast to many of his later more brooding works. LaFaro and Motian provide their legendary support and interplay with their typcial flair. This is my seventh Evans recording and it is like I am getting to know him all over again. No Evans collection would be complete without this recording. The recording quality is more than satisfactory. This album has energy, freshness and joy that just isn't there on later recordings. The group's playing is smart and engaging with a skillful balance between technical skill and understated musicality.
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