Customer Reviews

The Secret Sessions

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bill Evans was a master musician and a wonderful performer, but he had his fair share of personal issues to deal with and, unfortunately, he left the world much too soon. His performances on "The Secret Sessions" are unequivocally my favorite that ever have been released under his name. Ironically, he did not know that someone in the audience was taping him for these sessions. But, amazingly, that provided the perfect context for recording this rather gentle, beautiful spirit, because his "official" albums always sounded too self-conscious. Having these performances taped without his knowledge gives the listener the exact feeling of what it must have been like to hear him play on any given night. And the results are sublime--Bill Evans is such a passionate, soulful, sagacious player and improviser that you will be continually amazed at the decisions he makes on the piano.

Don't worry about the sound quality--it is actually excellent on all of the discs. Buy this to hear and enjoy the REAL Bill Evans.

Bill Evans was often pigeonholed as a neo-romantic pianist who favored ballads. He was criticized for sounding like a "cocktail pianist" and generally not thought of as a high energy player. These live recordings show another side to this master of harmony and time displacement. There is a rhythmic drive not present in much of his studio work. It is improvised music of the highest caliber, displaying the usual Evans discipline, yet at the same time wildly visceral and spontaneous, filled with the joyful abandon of a master artist at the full peak of his powers.

The recordings being bootlegs, the quality is lacking. The piano is too far back and has a certain brittleness that sometimes detracts from the Evans tone, usually so gorgeous and bell-like. The drums are up front which can be overpowering at times, but we're not talking about an audiophile recording here. It's what's being played that's so amazing. Forget the imperfections: this is essential listening for anyone with a passion for Evans' singular musical vision.

Make no mistake about it, these are bootleg recordings and they are of fairly raw sound quality. The piano is often boomy and distorted, the drums scratchy and the bass inaudible. There's also a lot of crowd noise (on the first disc there's a guy with a particularly "productive" cough). If you can tolerate all this, and you're going to need to be an Evans fanatic to do so, these are interesting recordings, but their interest is more archival than musical, I think.

Don't let the comments on the sound quality put you off. Is it rough? Yes. It IS after all a bootleg. But to miss these performances for the sake of less than perfect sound would be criminal. This is without a doubt the best Bill Evans playing I've heard committed to disc.

As another reviewer here commented, these performances are totally lacking in the self-consciousness so present when he knew he was being recorded. These are a great document of Mr. Evans, and are indeed a testimony to his enormous skill as a musician.

The sound quality is not the best that the commercial recording companies would normally produce, but it is head and shoulders above the quality of many "bootlegs." The music quality rearely gets in the way. Rather than be put off by so many of the reviews here that express concern as to the sound quality, just give it a listen on the Amazon web-site. This should convince you that the sound quality should not put you off of these records.

I really love these performances. Evans consistently played wonderfully. Buy them before they are gone.

The Secret Sessions
This album is indispensable listening. Across the course of eight discs Evans displays an extraordinary depth and breadth of color, emotion, and technique. While the sound quality is variable it is more than acceptable, especially given the quality of the playing.Here we get the opportunity to hear Bill Evans reinvigorate his original compositions such as Waltz for Debby, Turn Out The Stars, Nardis, Blue In Green, as well as put his stamp on Standards such as "Round About Midnight" and "I'll Remember April". "Live" we hear him relaxed and energized, making remarkable choices and always empathetic and witty.Those who have been told to regard him simply as a balladeer or grandmaster of the cocktail piano will find out how wrongheaded such an assessment is.Time and again Evans seizes our attention with the "sound of surprise". If nothing else, Evans is a "Romantic" in the heroic sense of the word. Over the decade 1966-75 we hear several editions of the trio, most united by the presence of the leader and bass player, Eddie Gomez, giving us an opportunity to appreciate anew the extraordinary ears the man had. Especially interesting to me is the "push" the more aggressive Philly Joe Jones seems to give him. Finally, the set is never dull: suitable for listening under almost any and all conditions, it encourages a sense of adventure and wonder in the listener. I hear Bill Evans and the world is alive with a wider range of possibilities, of new and renewed relationships. This is music making of the highest order and probably the Evans set I would take with me to the mythical "desert island".

Lets see now.....8 reviews?
One of the great assemblances of modern jazz and ...8 reviews.
I think I saw something like this once in the past...
I think it was called...the decline of the roman empire?

Wonderful music.If you want high fidelity, you can find something wit 5 stars
for it recording quality.
We are lucky to have been alive during Bill's stay here.

It offers a product link ...this CD is the product link

These set of discs are the best in the world! I highly recommend it for the intimate settings plus everything in sight.

I was lucky to have stumbled upon this boxed set in this cd store in Kuala Lumpur. Although the shop largely sells second hand cds i was very dubious that i would like to purchase the set. When i asked the manager if it was new or second hand , i was delighted to know that it was a new set and that the plastic wrap was not even cut and that the cd set was nver even touched. PLus you would not believe the price they had on it , it was only RM240. Which is equivalent to maybe 52 US Dollars. I was happier to go back home to find out that the set was in good condition and the songs and sounds of Bill Evans was magnificent. Get it you will have no regrets.