Bill Remembered - A Tribute to Bill Evans
By Monica Zetterlund (1937-2005) written in 2000 for the CD.
Just think of it.....36 years have gone by since I recorded the album "Waltz For Debbie" with Bill Evans. The fact that he's been gone for 20 years is also difficult to grasp. I remember hearing him for the first time at Birdland in New York. It was 1959 and I had never heard a pianist like him. His playing was so beautifully lyrical, and yet so deceptively simple, economic and intricate at the same time. For that reason this recording is a loving homage to Bill. He played many of these songs from time to time himself. I'm singing from the heart, not from a technical aspect, because the voice undergoes changes with the passing of years. In the past I used to sing more or less everyday in different circumstances: theatre, concerts, film, radio, TV and records and consequently, I could keep my voice in trim, but now several months can go by when I don't sing at all, I'm not the type who goes around humming to myself everyday, not even in the shower. I only sing if I really have to, the reason being that the voice undergoes as much wear-and-tear as the rest of the body - they go hand-in-hand and my body has really been subjected to much physical strain over the years. That's why I sat at home in my armchair to make this CD, singing to the background accompaniments which Goran, Ulf and Brent have arranged so skilfully after our collective-discussions that we had during the summer and autumn of 1999, and which all the musicians interpret with such sensitivity and feeling. THIS WILL BE MY LAST RECORDING - AND SO FOR THAT REASON I WOULD LIKE TO DEDICATE IT TO BILL.
Eliane Elias
Something For You - Eliane Elias Sings & Plays Bill Evans
by Ken Dryden
Eliane Elias' return to the Blue Note label after a decade working elsewhere is a triumph. This salute to the late pianist Bill Evans, one of her favorite players, explores a number of songs he recorded, including both standards and originals. Evans' bassist from his final trio, Marc Johnson, is not only a long-time collaborator with Elias but also her husband; drummer Joey Baron rounds out the band. While Elias is influenced by Evans' playing style, his arrangements are only a launching pad for her approach to each tune; never does she sound like an obvious Evans clone. Her lush take of "My Foolish Heart" features Johnson on the late Scott LaFaro's bass (the talented Evans sideman who died in a 1961 car wreck just ten days after recording the landmark sets with the pianist at the Village Vanguard). "Evanesque" is a newly discovered work that came from a cassette given to Johnson by Evans, so Elias adjusted the work by incorporating new material with his conception. The freewheeling take of "Solar" is a masterful group improvisation upon the Miles Davis theme. Elias' moving ballad "After All" is a sincere tribute to Evans. She has also built confidence in her singing over time; always gifted with a tender, sensuous voice, Elias glides gently over Johnson's walking introduction to "A Sleepin' Bee" and offers an equally delicate "Walt for Debby." She wrote words to Evans' previously unknown "Here Is Something for You," which was also discovered on the cassette given to Johnson. It is heard in two versions, a solo version with voice and piano where Elias mostly closely mirrors Evans' playing, then the original rehearsal by Evans, which segues into an excerpt of Elias' new version. The Japanese version of this delightful CD features an added track, "Re: Person I Knew."
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Conversations with Bill Evans
By Leonardo Barroso
For me the best tribute ever made for Bill Evans or for anyone. Beautiful, lyrical, profund and solo piano. Made by one of the most aclaimed classical pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. A must have for every jazz and classical fan. Evers since in his concert, he plays an Evans song at the finale of his presentation. I call this album: Alone part 3 or Final Conversations. Five stars !!!
THIS IS THE BEST TRIBUTE ALBUM EVER RECORDED !!!!!
This was an inevitable record, the absorption of Bill Evans into
the classical music world by having a concert pianist play his music. After all,
the classical piano streams of Debussy, Ravel and Rachmaninoff, among others, do
lead straight into Evans' introspective side. The only problem, perhaps, was in
finding a major classical pianist who is open-minded and courageous enough to
take this music on -- and they found one in Jean-Yves Thibaudet, a young
virtuoso from Lyons, France who also happens to be Decca/London's most heavily
promoted pianist of the '90s. What happens here, though, is the antithesis of
jazz, where the notes from spontaneous improvisations are canonized as the Holy
Word, not to be tampered with. Reading from carefully selected transcriptions of
Evans' solos, Thibaudet applies all of the tools in a classical pianist's
arsenal -- the expressive tempo fluctuations, carefully terraced dynamics, a
lovely, singing, rounded tone, subtle pedaling -- and produces broad,
seductively rhapsodic interpretations that could comfortably cap off an
enlightened classical recital. "Peace Piece," tin particular, could almost be
mistaken for a long-lost Satie Gymnopedie. What Thibaudet misses, though, is
true jazz feeling; when he tries to kick it in, as in the middle of "Here's That
Rainy Day," the syncopation sounds boxy and unnatural. He is, however,
adventurous -- or perhaps literal -- enough to follow Evans' example and overdub
reductions of Evans' added piano parts to "Love Theme From 'Spartacus'" and
"Song for Helen." This is an undeniably beautiful record, one that may
contribute to Evans' credibility in classical circles, but one must turn to
Evans' own recordings for the authentic sound and feeling.
Eliane Elias, Brad Mehldau, Bob James, Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin
Portrait Of Bill Evans
by Leonardo Barroso
A tribute ordered by JVC, and who said Brad Mehldau wasn't inspired by Bill Evans ? Each musician plays two tunes by Bill, associated with , or a true homage. Superberly well recording, made with JVC XRCD
24-Bit technology.
Eliane Elias plays Come Rain or Come Shine and If You Could See Me Now
Bob James plays Nardis and Under The Influence
Herbie Hancock plays Gotta Rhytm and Ghost Story
Brad Mehldau plays The More I See You and My Heart Stood Still
Dave Grusin plays Waltz For Debby and Emily
Paul Motian
Bill Evans - Tribute To The Great Post-Bop Pianist
by Stephen Cook
Having been Bill Evans' drummer during the pianist's prime early-'60s period, Paul Motian is the right person to record an Evans tribute album, a recording that fits right in with Motian's spate of jazz repertory releases (Monk in Motian, the On Broadway series). But the obligatory nature of the record ends there, as Motian, tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarist Bill Frisell, and bassist Marc Johnson turn in an innovative set, using Evans' rich harmonic and rhythmic structures to launch many inspired solos. And being sensitive to Evans' subtle and intimate piano style, the group opts for a fairly straightforward tonal attack: Frisell forgoes his usual hyper-eclectic approach for some unadorned jazz soloing, while Lovano sticks to the middle register of his horn. For his part, Motian keeps the swing supple enough to be unobtrusive, while adding choice accents throughout. Highlights include the exquisite ballads "Turn Out the Stars" and "Very Early," a somewhat free-form reading of "Five," and the elegiac rendition of "Play Song." This is one of the best releases of the handful Motian has done with Lovano and Frisell, and certainly as fine a tribute record as there is. A good purchase for fans of both Bill Evans and Paul Motian.
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