Bill Evans, The Secret Sessions (Milestone)
BILL EVANS, FOR THE UNINITIated, is widely recognized as one of jazz's great pianists. His innovative approach to the piano trio revolutionized the bass/drums/piano format. To keep his sound fresh, his trio rarely rehearsed, and instead relied on musicianship and a certain simpa-tico between trio members to make things work. Evans possessed an unmistakable, lush, romantic sound, one that Miles Davis likened to "crystal notes or cascading water sparkling down from some clear waterfall."
Evans was also notoriously shy, and disliked recording, whether in a studio or in a live performance. "You're never going to hear on record what you may hear live," Evans once said. Now, 17 years after Evans' death, one dedicated fan's obsession comes to light on this eight-CD set. For over a decade, Mike Harris--an optical physicist, amateur pianist, and Evans fanatic--secretly taped scores of Evans' performances at the Village Vanguard. Milestone has now released these tapes as The Secret Sessions.
Harris, who understood acoustics, did a remarkable job with a small tape recorder. Orrin Keepnews, Evans' first producer, did a pretty good job remastering these discs. The ranges on the bass and piano are rather muffled, and the mix and separation are poor, but Evans and bassist Eddie Gomez are still quite legible. These audio imperfections are tolerable: The sound quality isn't great, mind you, but it's not so poor that you can't enjoy the music.
The Secret Sessions provides a great study in how Evans and Gomez developed together. Seven different drummers play on this disc. Some are quite remarkable, especially the sides from 1967 with Philly Joe Jones. Other drummers, including Marty Morell and Jack DeJohnette, also have their moments. But the main show is Evans and Gomez, who weave melodies and improvisations back and forth like magic. Evans swings, he soothes, and he coaxes pure beauty out of the piano. Evans standards, including "Waltz For Debby," "Nardis," "Time Remembered," and "Blue In Green" are sprinkled throughout, with noticeable variations in the arrangements over the years. There is a spontaneity here that even Evans' "official" live recordings don't really capture.
As fine as this music is, the cost and the sound quality make it hard to recommend to anyone other than a purist. The playing ranges from good to great, but that's true for dozens of other Bill Evans CDs. This set has unmistakable historical value, to be sure. If you're an Evans fanatic, this is essential, grail-quality material.
If you're interested in spending some big bucks on a Bill Evans boxed set, you've got several choices. Big boxed sets of Evans material will be available. Verve's massive 16-CD set is due out soon, and Warner Brothers has just released Turn Out the Stars, a six-CD set of Evans' last live performances in 1980. There's also The Complete Fantasy Recordings (nine CDs, covering 1973 to1979), as well as the 12-CD set, The Complete Riverside Recordings, covering the early 1956 to 1963 years.
The best of all these boxed sets, indeed one of my favorite CD sets of all time, is the marvelous The Complete Riverside Recordings, which collects his earliest solo material. Included on these 12 discs are his masterpieces Portrait In Jazz, Explorations, Sunday At The Village Vanguard, and Waltz For Debby, as well as a half-dozen other albums and outtakes. It's the best stuff this master ever did.
-- Gene Hyde
Various Artists, Leonard Bernstein's New York (Nonesuch)
LEONARD BERNSTEIN'S NEW YORK aims to be a musical celebration of a marvelous, colorful, and dynamic period in the history of this country's cultural capital during the years 1944 to 1957. It lands somewhat wide of the mark, no doubt because singer Dawn Upshaw sits at its center. (Yes, Upshaw strikes again, with yet another perfectly phrased and perfectly colorless performance.)
What saves this collection of songs and orchestral shorts from irredeemable boredom and certain death are the clever, well-crafted pieces themselves (pieces from On the Town, Fancy Free, Wonderful Town, West Side Story, and On The Waterfront), along with Upshaw's singing companions, especially Judy Blazer, Mandy Patinkin, and Donna Murphy, as well as Audra McDonald and Richard Muenz. The ultra-witty (and yes, urbane) lyrics of the unbeatable team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green contribute substantially to the success and merits of these songs. The Orchestra of St. Luke's and conductor Eric Stern are exceptional--even stellar. The audio production is superb.
Yes, it's true that the New York these pieces describe does not really exist anymore. (That's what we rely on art for: to capture, to encapsulate, to document a moment--a feeling, a thought, an idea.) But have you seen Times Square and 42nd Street lately? Mickey Mouse has set up shop, and in a big way. The Disneyfication of New York is well under way. If the French ever got it right, it was being bent out of shape about EuroDisney blemishing their lovely countryside.
I hate to pick on Dawn Upshaw, who is in truth a fine musician, and a champion and promoter of singer and song, classical and popular. In fact, it's evident that this project was built around and for her--perhaps by her. But I have to say it: "Miss Upshaw, this time your mouse ears are really showing!"--David Smyth