Customer Reviews

Letter to Evan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD (along with the "Turn Out The Stars" CD on the same label) is an essential live recording of the Bill Evans Trio at Ronnie Scott's in London during Bill's final days (released with permission of Mr. Evans' estate). These performances reveal Bill reaching a remarkable pinnacle in technique and harmonic and rhythmic inventiveness, also heard on the more high-profile CD Box Sets "The Last Waltz" (Fantasy) and "Turn out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings" (WB). These Ronnie Scott recordings are every bit as exciting, sometimes even more freewheeling and electric in character. The sound quality is very good for a live club recording, and renditions of "Your Story", "Stella By Starlight", "Emily", and "Letter To Evan" are definitive examples of the Evans/Johnson/LaBarbera trio at its finest.

Bill Evans was an extraordinarily gifted artist. My appreciation for this cd is personal, the track "Knit For Mary F" was written for my mother who was a close friend to this wonderful man. So precise and clear are the notes and played with great emotion, this cd is a classic. A Bill Evans comes along once in a lifetime. This cd is a must for the collector who is moved by Bill's sensitivity and grace. His ability to reach the heart in undeniable.

I was shocked at the poor recording quality on this CD (it sounds like a few I have made with my minidisc recorder in clubs). The piano has a few keys that are annoyingly out of tune and the drum solo on track 2 is very distorted. It's ok when the drums aren't overblasting the mic and Bill avoids the bad keys (I can't believe he would use this piano!).