Bill Evans was a famous and influential jazz pianist. He was a member of Miles Davis’ sextet in 1958 for eight months and was asked back to record Kind of Blue. Davis wrote in his autobiography “I've sure learned a lot from Bill Evans. He plays the piano the way it should be played.” As a leader, Evans most acclaimed trio found him joined by bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian although that line-up was cut short by LaFaro’s untimely death in a car accident at the age of 25 in 1961.
The Jazz Icons series presents Bill Evans - Live ’64-’75. It presents 98 minutes of performances by various line-ups of the Bill Evans Trio over the course of five sessions and 11 years. Evans is interesting to watch because there’s not a lot of showmanship. He’s there to serve the music and the instrument rather than the audience, playing hunched over, with his face almost in the keys. The viewer can see a man fully in the moment, only connecting to the other musicians through the sounds they create.
The first segment was recorded in Sweden on September 29, 1964. Appearing by themselves in a studio for a program called Trumpeten, Evans is joined by Chuck Israels (bass) and Larry Bunker (drums). They open with Ned Washington and Victor Young’s “My Foolish Heart” and it is immediately evident from the first few moments that the emphasis is on “Trio” in the Bill Evans Trio. Every instrument has an equal part and placement in the song. Evans’ piano playing evokes the mood of the title so well that Washington’s lyrics are unnecessary. Bunker brushes the drums and Israels plucks along on the bass; their sounds creating the gloominess of a rainy day or a bout of sadness. The melancholic melody of the music perfectly captures when the heart can’t get what the heart wants.
Evans counts off and they switch gears, picking up the pace on John Carisi’s “Israel.” The camera gets a great shot of Evans’ face as he works to get to where he wants the music to go. His playing falls away at different times, allowing the bass and drums to offer up solos. There are very nice close-ups on the playing of the instruments and a great shot of the trio in action together. In the liner notes there’s an interview with Chuck Israels from April 2008 appears.
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