Customer Reviews

Waltz for Debby (20 Bit Mastering)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a genuine classic. But, be forewarned it may spoil you because the level of individual musicianship and the group interplay of the three musicians is at a level rarely equalled by other jazz (or any style) musicians. Its companion volume, "Sunday at the Village Vanguard," which focuses more on bassist Scott LaFaro, is its equal. Evans' touch, sense of rhythm, intelligence and his long, flowing melodic lines have been better documented by others than I can. And LaFaro's inventiveness and technique have, too. But, I find few people talk about Paul Motian on drums. His is some of the best drumming ever committed to cd. He is so much more than a timekeeper, he is a melodist and an equal member of the trio. He is endlessly creative, in tune with the other musicians, mindful of the ebb and flow of the music and plays in the context of the other's contributions and the song at hand. (Compare to the drumming on Rubalcaba's "The Blessing" which is often brilliant, but often too busy or loud for the context he's playing in.) Nobody uses brushes as well as Motian. (Though the style of music and drumming is very different, I find Motian the equal of Art Blakey in Monk's trio recordings--"Work" and "Nutty"-- in that the drummer is not subserviant to the gifted pianist, but makes him even better by his level of musicianship and inventiveness. Both Motian and Blakey prove that drumming can be about much more than rhythm but about music.) Many people talk about the fact that this is an ensemble in which all three members solo, play lead and push the envelope. The best proof of that is that I find myself listening differently to the same cut at different times. Sometimes I focus on Evans, sometimes on LaFaro and sometimes on Motian. In different listenings I find myself thinking that the real leader is a different member of the trio. This is one of those cd's I listnen to late at night and find myself using the back control to listen again to a phrase, or how one musician plays off another's ideas, or just to hear again a stunningly beautiful or inventive phrase. I find, even after 20 years of listening to this music (on vinyl and cd) that I still find new wonders and delights. Warning, the level of musicianship, interplay, creativity will spoil you. No one plays like Evans,(except imiatators) and few have found "sidemen" equal to the task of matching them.

This is the K2 Supercodeing re-issue of a timeless piece of musical history. JVC and Fantasy/OJC/Riverside teamed up to redux this one right and they almost succeeded. Other than the distortion on the first track, this would be a 5 star home run. This is the original Bill Evans Trio live at the Village Vanguard with the soon to be late Scott Lafaro on bass. This disc contains 6 original album cuts and I beleive 5 more alternate takes which rescue the mess of the first track plus a bonus track from the live date, PORGY. This disc also contains a reading of a now familiar and favorite Miles Davis tune, MILESTONES. The K2 execution of this session sounds better to this listener than the JVC XRCD version and at half the price. This is supposed to be a limited production run along with other OJC/Fantasy/Prestige/Riverside jazz favorites including Sonny Rollins Saxaphone Collosus, Wes Montgomery Incredible Jazz Guitar, Chet Baker Chet and Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section. All these discs sound great and at least a power of 10 better than the original polycarbonate efforts. Waltz for Debbie is a keeper.

For trained ears, this 20 bit K2 remastered version sounds significantly better than the conventional less expensive version. But the price difference is more than justified, if you are a devoted Bill Evans fan who wants to get as close as possible to the real performance on stage that magical Sunday afternoon. Nonetheless, I cannot help but listen to this CD with genuine respect and apprecaition to the musicians but also with disdain to the audience at the club. They were so lucky beyond any stretch of imagination to be there but (at least, some of them) kept on chatting with occasional laughter during the performance. This may be an indication that Bill Evans was still taken lightly as a budding musician in those early days of Bill's career. If you want more, Bill's "The Complete Riverside Recordings" will give you a chance to expose to the entire show in the sequence of each tune as originally played.

I would rank this as one of the best jazz records, along with Kind of Blue, Giant Steps, and A Blowing Session. Sublime, but Evans' playing keeps it all together due to his ability to convey different emotions through the piano keys. The gold disc version by Analogue Productions is clearly better than the standard OJC version, and also better than the JVC K2 version. However, the K2 is very good for the money and superior to the OJC version. Listening to the gold disc on a good system, you can really hear the microdetails of the piano and symbols, while the overall sound is smooth and full bodied.

The piano is a versatile instrument. It can function as an accompanying instrument or as a leading instrument. For the latter, there is no better album.

Evans' rendition of My Foolish Heart is one of the great moments of jazz history. It opens the album superlatively. The title track and Detour Ahead are both gems. Everything on the record is stunning. The late Scott LaFaro sounds more inspired than ever.

In regards to which you should buy first Waltz for Debby or Sunday at the Village Vanguard, obviously it is all subjective. However, to make things maybe too simple, I will say this. Sunday at the Village Vanguard (released first) has a greater focus on LaFaro's bass and writing than Waltz. Waltz for Debby is just an inch stronger because the trio is presented more as a unit and less as a platform to feature each instrumentalist. But truly they are both phenomenons of jazz history. Easily the greatest records Evans ever made, and easily the greatest piano trio recordings ever made. And most impressively, probably still the most astounding music ever recorded at the Vanguard, tied with Coltrane from the same year.

This album might not blow you away the first time you hear it, but man is it powerful. I honestly think that the synergy between Motian, LaFaro and Evans is comporable to that of the players in Davis's kind of blue. Chances are, if you're a jazz fan you've heard Kind of Blue. Evans was in it, and was absolutely amazing. Here, a few years later, he's at it again with a thoughtfulness, sensitivity and passion that might take a while to sink in, but it gets better each time you listen to it and if you're like me, you'll listen to this album hundreds of times. I haven't heard all of Evan's albums but a lot of people say that Live at the Village Vangaurd is the best. I think this album is so great that it tops even that album. I believe Evan's piano will be played as long as the piano of Bethoven . . . seriously! As if the previous reasons weren't enough to justify buying it, you'll hear one of the best bassists of all time. Buy it. The sooner the better.

This is just one of Evan's most outstanding albums. If you haven't had the pleasure of discovering one of the masters of jazz piano, don't hesitate a moment more! You will not find a better introduction to this stirring music.

Record is great, good sound, but the notes had a few hard to remove stickers on, no doubt refected in the price! Still a great album you don't play the cover!

i LOVE this collection.

in fact, i'd got so far as to say i can't go very long without listening to it. the music is amazing..

the crying shame of it IS-- the piano is SO distorted in transients, that i can't listen to it without cringing. it's so clear and great on bass and drums.. you feel immersed in the space. but... bill evans' piano is farting out in so many places.. it's really sorta atrocious. i thought there was something wrong with my system-- literally. but it's the discs..

i really don't know if it's the masters, or the mastering.. but sadly.. either way.. it kinda bombs. if you listen in the car or as a background.. this is a fantastic set. if you REALLY sit and listen.. i'm really sad to say, this ain't your collection!

Bill Evans will always be one of the most sublime exponents of the jazz understood and conceived as the supreme improvisation art. Evans `s sensibility and phrasing is absolutely evident in every little bar his velvet fingers played. He had as the most of the creators, the right approach, the sense of rapture, the discrete enchantment and the spelling atmosphere to show the core of every work.
All his works through his career reveal that notable characteristic so typical of the poet man: the non exhausted capacity to re invent himself constantly: innovation is transformation.
So in these terms his craft will survive generations and generations because it is based on convictions and inner values that have nothing to do with material issues.
This historical record will be an unvaluable testimony for the future listeners about the trascendence and importance of this colossal musician.