Customer Reviews

Everybody Digs Bill Evans

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I grew up in a home where I was exposed to great piano jazz. My father himself played jazz piano in the home and I also had the privilege of hearing recordings of many of the greats on vinyl: Art Tatum, Nat Cole, Errol Garner, George Shearing, Oscar Peterson, Teddy Wilson, etc. One day my father put on a record that, to me, sounded like some guy practicing chords. But what chords! My father told me that this was a fellow named Bill Evans, and that nobody played like him. He bought a scorebook of Bill Evans compositions and vainly tried to play them despite the fact he couldn't read music. The music looked deceptively simple. How could two hands make such beautiful music from so few dots and lines?

The only answer is that Bill Evans had a gift that for too short a time he shared with us mere mortals. Even though his gifts near the end of his life were, in my opinion, somewhat squandered, this album remains for me one of my favorites of all his albums. This is more than just a fine album - it is a showcase for Evans' formidable gifts as composer, arranger and player. He was only 29 years old when this was released, and it gave ample evidence of the greatness that was to follow. If you think it is impossible to play beautiful piano without touching the keys, listen to 'What is There to Say.' Evans seems to beckon this song out of the piano. It's impossible to believe something so lovely could be derived from hammers hitting strings.

Every time I play it, after each track I think, "THAT'S my favorite track on the album." You really can't go wrong, just pick one and listen. Every single track has something to recommend it. If forced I would have to say that the tracks I find myself listening to the most are 'Young and Foolish', 'Night and Day' (Jones' drumming is flat out fun!) and 'What is There to Say'. I even hesitated about writing the last sentence for fear that it would be construed that some of the tracks weren't as good as the others. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The only bad time to listen to this CD would be, probably, during a WWF match. But what are you doing watching that garbage anyway?

I just have to rank this album right alongside _Sunday at the Village Vanguard_ and _Waltz for Debby_ for top form stuff. Unlike those two albums recorded live on a Vanguard gig, this is Bill's definitive, untouchably gorgeous, sensitive sound in the studio.

My god...that sound! "Minority" is awesome to hear Evans in full orchestral mode with his trademark dense chords on the head of a wonderful, uptempo tune. "Young and Foolish" (with the trio) and "Lucky To Be Me" (solo Bill) are the exquisite, highlight ballads, particularly the way he closes "Lucky". "Tenderly", a waltz, is not far behind, along with "What Is There To Say?". No one plays great music off the sentimental heartstrings better than Bill on standards; just try to keep him from coaxing the tears and memories out of you. He does it without a hint of sappiness, but overflowing with fresh interpretation, awareness, and sincerity. I've said it before and I'll say it again: that ungodly touch of his on the keys is unparalleled acoustic beauty. There's a reason why he's revered by pianists, and even some of us guitarists. :-)

The first few chords of "Peace Piece" sound to my ears like the genesis of Miles' subsequently recorded "Flamenco Sketches" on _Kind of Blue_, but who cares, even if true, it doesn't detract from either. This solo effort, like the ballads, will leave you amazed at the powers of introspection of someone quite possibly more human than the rest of us, and willing to share it.

This trio more than gives the _Sunday at the Village Vanguard_/_Waltz for Debby_ trio a run for its money. Sam Jones on bass doesn't take such a commanding, prominent role as Scott La Faro, but swings and drives just as mightily, working so well with Philly Joe. As for the latter...man, let's just say Philly Joe was Bill's recognized favorite drummer for a damned good reason, namely being one of the best bop *and* cool drummers ever to walk the planet. As much as I love Elvin, Blakey, Tony Williams, Klook, or Roach, Philly's probably got my vote, too.

_Night and Day_ in particular features Philly threatening to mix hard-bop raucous and Latin on his rims, dancing around Bill latching onto the nod-ya-head cool groove, while Sam takes full advantage of his featured breaks and trades with the other two. The Sonny Rollins tune "Oleo" also makes your day, to hear this trio handle the informal jazz tradition of "rhythm changes." (For the uninitiated, "rhythm changes" refer to any tune that is more or less based off of the harmonic progression and form of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm," though frequently reharmonized and otherwise abused :-); Oleo in particular has a nifty, rhythmically challenging head that makes it a favorite with musicians).

No question, this album marked a pioneering step into the inner beyond that all jazz musicians and their audiences would love to reach. Dig it alone, or with your significant other over a glass of equally rich wine, and you can thank me later. :)

This album reflects a crossroads in Bill's career. Bill had two current's flowing--his romantic style and his bop style. His prior album New Conceptions, which caused a stir, was almost a hard bop album. His lines at that point reflected Horace Silver's influence. Hard driving, mostly right hand extremely long lines; the ballads were somewhat arranged and not with his characteristic emotion. He knew he had more work to do (rec hiatus for almost 2 years)
With Everybody Digs however, Bill hit his stride. He had tempered and became more choice with his vocabulary-around this time he was a member of Miles Davis group. Oleo is a stunning effort. It is bop based, but it is a highly original take on it. None of his contemporaries were quite able to take the bebop idiom and loosen it up from Powell's reigns in terms of a new direction. This harder driving style on this record(a la All About Rosie/George Russell) as other reviewers commented seem to have been abandoned after the 50's. You see a little of it on Undercurrents on
Funny Valentine.
The ballads--lucky to be me, what is there to say. That ballad touch--so characteristic and identifiable was now permanently stamped to vinyl. And Peace, Peace is really a wild experiment with fantastic results. Bill could often be very tidy and preprogrammed but when he did odd things like this he really showed his unique depth. Another example of Bill's capricious and often humorous side can be seen on "With a Song in My Heart" from Empathy with Shelly Manne and Monty Budwig. Anybody interested in this period of bill's playing would be interested in checking out his work as a sideman with Dave Pike, Art Farmer, Charlie Mingus and Eddie Costa.

There may be a temptation to pass up this album in favor of the more "characteristic" Bill Evans of the later trios beginning with Lafaro and Motian. With a relentlessly swinging, earthy, "straight-ahead," bop and soul-oriented supportive team of Sam Jones and Philly Joe, Bill might be expected to fall into their insistent groove, providing at best a neo-Bud Powell impersonation. But the opposite is closer to the final result: the Jones' boys come under the spell of Evans' romantic, lyrical individualism. At the same time, Bill's lines are etched in bolder relief than is the case on the recordings of the later, more impressionistic and democratic trios. Take, for instance, "Night and Day." First, Philly Joe's tap dancing rhythms reference the musician for whom the song was written (Fred Astaire), then Sam lays down an irresistible dance beat, then Bill becomes the dancer--alternating between being a graceful, composite Fred-Ginger and a dazzling soloist, executing several stunning breaks without benefit of help from either accompanist.

From the opening chords of Gigi Gryce's "Minority" you know that this is going to be a good album. During this 1958 session Evans clearly demonstrated why everybody was digging him. The trio includes Philly Joe Jones on drums and Sam Jones on bass, and it explores the whole range of Evans' talent from the explosively lyrical to modal invention. Bill Evans was simply a master of harmony and invention. "Minority" starts the disc off at a quick tempo. Evans turns out phrase after phrase supported by Philly Joe and Sam. Evans and Philly Joe trade breaks that demonstrate their inventiveness ending with a subtle duet. "Young and Foolish" exemplifies Evans' ballad style. His piano is heartbreakingly lyrical above Philly Joe's sensitive brush work. Evans' solo pieces are exquisite. In "Lucky to Be Me" his perfect sense of time, space, and harmony combine in a lyrical masterpiece. "Peace Peace" is a modal tone poem equal to anything Eric Satie composed--the clarity of bells, the stateliness of love. The trio spins Cole Porter's "Night and Day" into another world--some straight ahead, some Latin--as Evans redefines the song in varied rhythmic contexts. Evans' "Tenderly" swings lightly with Philly Joe and Sam laying down a firm support for his improvisation. Just listen to the harmony!! "What is There to Say?" does say a good deal between Evans' solo introduction and his evocative reinvention of the melody and subsequent commentary. Sonny Rollins' "Oleo" shows Evans capable of hard bop--without loss of life or lyricism. This could be Bud Powell, but it's Bill Evans swinging here--fresh, tight, and quick. The bonus track on this album is "Some Other Time" another ballad treatment that favors exquisite modal harmonies--lovely impressionistic lines. Obviously, I highly recommend this disc.

I've listened to this CD many times, and it never fails to enthrall me. One of the things I love about Bill Evans is the care with which he seems to select each note. "Peace Piece" is still my favorite track, Bill seems to bare his soul on this one. Anyone interested in building a serious jazz collection would do well to start with this one. Go for the 20-bit remastered version, I have both versions, the 20-bit is cleaner.

From the fast four tempo of "Minority" to the long drawn pace of "What Is There To Say," this album proves that Bill Evans was and will always be a master in the delicate art of jazz piano playing.

Listen to how he makes the languid "Young And Foolish" swing, modulating it from C Major to E Major seamlessly, as if the song had been written originally that way. The equally slow "What Is There To Say" starts to move in a gentle swaying rhythm as Evans improvises with those beautiful block chords. This album is worthy of its title, a tribute to a man whose only fault was that he left the jazz world so soon.

In case you are wondering if you should buy this CD, let me just say that in my lifetime I have never heard a better recording. This is my favorite CD and if you are at all interesting in jazz piano make this purchase! You will return to it again and again; listening to "Piece Piece", "Young and Foolish" and "Lucky to be Me" I am simply overwhelmed by the beauty, joy, and sadness these tracks (and the others as well) have to offer. The finest Bill Evans album I have ever heard...superlatives aside, you can't go wrong here!!!

I love this CD beyond all other Bill Evans CD's for several reasons: the generous number of tracks; superb balance between his own stuff and other composers, both old and new; Philly Joe Jones' drumming (WOW) and, most of all, his inclusion of two Bernstein songs, both in great versions. Except for West Side Story, Bernstein seems relatively undiscovered by jazz artists and I can't imagine why -- no American composer fits the genre better. If anyone out there knows of a treatment of "Lonely Town", I wish you'd let me know!

Before picking this CD up a couple weeks ago, I was really only familiar with Bill Evans from his playing on the timeless Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" record. I had heard people drop his name as a Jazz Great many times, but never searched anything else out. Man, was I missing out.

This record, "Everybody Digs Bill Evans", has really hooked me. Evans shows amazing versatility on this record. I especially like the treatment of the great Sonny Rollins tune, "Oleo".

However, I found Evans peaceful and mellow side much more appealing, especially when he is playing in this mode solo. This surprises me, because this type of piano playing--soft, spacious, slow tempo, solo--is not usually my favorite. There's so much color in Evans playing, though, that I can't resist it. The song "Peace Piece" is my favorite of these tunes on this record.

If you're looking for a place to start checking out Bill Evans, of course do not neglect "Kind of Blue", but this record, "Everybody Digs Bill Evans", was a great launching point for me.