Requisites

Bill Evans in Norway: The Kongsberg Concert ~ Bill Evans | By Eddie Carter

One of my favorite ways to enjoy jazz while reading is listening to a piano trio and one of my favorite pianists for this is Bill Evans. I was thrilled to pick up a Record Store Day copy of this morning’s album from the library. Bill Evans in Norway – The Kongsberg Concert (Elemental Music 5990547) is a two-record set that captures a never-before-released trio performance at the 1970 Kongsberg Jazz Festival, recorded a few days after the Montreux Jazz Festival. Bill is joined on this date by two gentlemen who have been members of the threesome for a while: Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums. My copy is 4504 of 8850 in the Worldwide limited edition Stereo release.

The album opener, Come Rain or Come Shine, by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, was first performed in the 1946 Broadway musical St. Louis Woman. Bill opens with a short solo introduction, building to the trio’s medium melody. Eddie steps up first and swings with full-toned ease. Bill takes over and captivates the listener with a soulful rendition until the song’s reprise and ending. What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life? by Michel Legrand, Alan and Marilyn Bergman is a hauntingly tender song that opens with the trio’s pretty theme. Evans’s solo is a beautiful interpretation, culminating with a gentle restatement and finale.

34 Skidoo by Bill Evans starts with the trio setting a spirited groove in the melody. Bill kicks off the opening statement with a carefree zest and a display of his virtuosity that will leave the listener in awe. In the following interpretation, Eddie’s bass walks purposefully ahead of the pianist’s reappearance for the song’s conclusion. Turn Out The Stars is one of Bill’s most beautiful compositions. The piano’s introduction begins at a deceptively slow tempo before the pace picks up for the melody. As the song’s only soloist, Bill tells a touching story in a profoundly emotional performance balanced by his bandmates, leading to a peaceful ending.

Side Two starts with Autumn Leaves by Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert and Johnny Mercer. The trio breaks into a hard-swinging opening chorus, and then Eddie takes a soaring solo that draws us in immediately while Marty’s brushwork provides the power. Bill takes flight in a vigorous reading preceding a rousing theme reprise and climax. Quiet Now by Denny Zeitlin is a gorgeous ballad, beginning with a short piano introduction which blossoms into an elegant melody. In the song’s only reading, Bill again has the spotlight and gives a beautifully conceived performance, leading to a tender ending that will linger in the listener’s memory long after the song ends.

The tempo moves upward again for So What by Miles Davis. It kicks off with Eddie’s introduction to the ensemble’s upbeat theme. Bill stretches himself ambitiously to the edge of bop, modal and free jazz in the opening statement. Marty gets his first chance to solo next and gives a short workout, then Eddie catches fire in the closer before the song concludes. Gloria’s Step is by Scott LaFaro, a member of one of Evans’s best trios until he died in a tragic 1961 auto accident. The trio opens the third side with a lively melody; then, Bill gets to the heart of the matter in the lead solo. Marty flies briskly in the second presentation, and Eddie wraps up things before the trio’s out-chorus.

Emily is the creation of Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer. It comes to life with the pianist’s introduction to the trio’s lightly-swinging melody. Bill gets things off to a good start in the lead solo. Eddie fully displays his beautiful tone in the second interpretation ahead of the closing ensemble. Midnight Mood by Ben Raleigh and Joe Zawinul is a pretty tune that’s remarkably easy for listeners to love. The trio establishes a nice momentum in the opening ensemble, and then Bill starts the solos with effortless grace and relaxed authority. Eddie follows with a very satisfying performance before the trio restates the melody.

Side Four starts with the English composing team of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s original, Who Can I Turn To? A solo piano introduction gets things started, leading to the theme. Eddie gets the first nod and turns in a peppy performance; then, Bill keeps the burners on high in the following presentation before the closing chorus. Some Other Time by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Leonard Bernstein begins with a gorgeous melody by the trio. The pianist has the song’s only solo and delivers a poignant presentation that is beautifully done, culminating with a gentle theme reprise and a thunderous ovation from the audience.

The album closer is Nardis by Miles Davis, beginning with a solo piano introduction, segueing to the threesome’s melody. Eddie has a lengthy canvas to work on and gives an impressive opening statement. Bill takes it up and generates a great deal of excitement next. Marty attacks the drums with fierce agility into the reprise and climax. Zev Feldman produced Bill Evans in Norway, and Kristian Ludvik-Bøhmer was the recording engineer. Matthew Lutthans mastered the album at The Mastering Lab. The record was pressed on 180 grams of audiophile vinyl and is extremely quiet until the music starts. An extensive booklet with rare photos and interviews is also included.

If you’re a fan of Bill Evans and in the mood for an outstanding live album, I happily recommend and invite you to check out Bill Evans in Norway – The Kongsberg Concert the next time you’re out record shopping. It may be challenging to find a copy because this was a Record Store Day release, but your detective work will be rewarded by one of the best live piano trio albums for a spot in your library!

~ Autumn Leaves, Come Rain or Come Shine – Source: JazzStandards.com

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ray Starling was born in London, England on Jauary 4, 1933 and began his musical training on piano. He started playing trumpet when he moved to the United States at age 16. He started his career as a member of the Kai Winding band and played the mellophone on two songs on Kai’s 1960 album The Incredible Kai Winding Trombones.

By the time he joined the Stan Kenton band in 1961, he had made several recordings not only on trumpet but also on flugelhorn and mellophone. He played in, and wrote for, Kenton’s band in 1961 and ’62. He replaced Gene Roland in the mellophone section, while Roland took the arranger position for the band.  Starling played on the album Adventures In Blues consisting entirely of original compositions and arrangements by Roland.

After leaving the Kenton outfit, Ray briefly co-led with Joel Kaye the New York Soundstage Orchestra #1 that accompanied vocalists such as Annette Sanders and Tony Bennett. The name changed in the Seventies to the New York Neophonic Orchestra under Kaye’s leadership..

Starling continued to record through the ‘60s, notably in Johnny Richards’ big band and on J.J. Johnson’s 1965 big band album Goodies. He played piano in Buddy Rich’s big band in 1967.

Moving to Phoenix, Arizona is where he spent his remaining years. Trumpeter, mellophonist, pianist and arranger Ray Starling, who also played and recorded with Ray Eberly, Claude Thirnill, Johnny Richards, Sal Salvador, Peter Appleyard and Tony Ortega among others, died on May 15, 1982.

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The Jazz Voyager

The Jazz Voyager will be landing in the Big Apple tonight heading to Broadway to help kick off the New Year at Dizzy’s by celebrating with drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts on his 65th birthday. The club sits high above Columbus Circle with a backdrop of Central Park and the Manhattan vistas. It’s a view to remember.

This multi-Grammy winner and Guggenheim fellow leads an all-star band for a high-energy, four-night run, featuring saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, pianist James Francies, James Genus on the double bass, and guitarist Paul Bollenback. Tain’s distinct blend of swing, innovation, and soul, honed through collaborations with legends like Wynton Marsalis and McCoy Tyner, is sure to set the stage afire and raise the roof.

Tickets range from $25.00~$60.00 and some performances Sold Out , so check availability before you go.

Dizzy’s is located at 10 Columbus Circle, New York City, NY 10019. For more information visit https://jazz.org/dizzys.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York City on December 30, 1895. By 1916 he was leading his own dance band in New York City. Five years later his band began broadcasting on the new medium of entertainment radio, giving listeners a weekly 90-minute show on Newark, New Jersey station WJZ. The broadcast was instrumental in making him one of North America’s most popular bandleaders through the 1940s.

In the 1930s and ‘40s Vincent worked occasionally in feature films, notably The Big Broadcast and I Don’t Want to Make History and  was one of the first bandleaders to work in Soundies movie musicals. His flamboyant style of piano playing influenced Eddy Duchin and Liberace.

Noted musicians who played in his band included Artie Shaw, Xavier Cugat, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Bob Effros, Mike Mosiello, Fred Lowery, Joe Tarto and Glenn Miller. He featured singers Keller Sisters and Lynch, Betty Hutton, and Marion Hutton. Lopez’s longtime drummer was Mike Riley, who popularized the novelty hit The Music Goes Round and Round.

In 1941, Lopez’s Orchestra began a residency at Manhattan’s Taft Hotel that lasted 25 years. In the early 1950s, he along with Gloria Parker hosted a radio program broadcast from the Taft Hotel called Shake the Maracas in which audience members competed for small prizes by playing maracas with the orchestra.

Bandleader, pianist and actor Vincent Lopez, who published his autobiography Lopez Speaking in 1960, died at the Villa Maria nursing home in North Miami, Florida on September 20, 1975.

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ABELITA MATEUS TRIO

Singer, pianist and São Paulo native Abelita Mateus is in the vanguard of the next wave of soulful and hypnotic 21st Century Brazilian music.

A New Yorker since 2012, her 2017 debut album Vivenda made the jazz chart’s Top 25 and Downbeat wrote that her 2018 follow-up record Mixed Feelings “shows off an impressive ability to synthesize the sounds of her Brazilian home with jazz, the music that inspired her move to the States.”

Tickets: $25.00 +Fee

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