Chick Corea - The Mad Hatter

Styles: Piano Jazz   
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:02
Size: 115,4 MB
Art: Front

( 4:25)  1. The Woods
( 1:08)  2. Tweedle Dee
( 1:39)  3. The Trial
( 6:30)  4. Humpty Dumpty
( 1:19)  5. Prelude To Falling Alice
( 8:17)  6. Falling Alice
( 2:50)  7. Tweedle Dum
(13:07)  8. Dear Alice
(10:43)  9. The Mad Hatter Rhapsody

This post-Return to Forever Chick Corea LP is a bit of a mixed bag. Corea is heard on his many keyboards during an atmospheric "The Woods," interacts with a string section on "Tweedle Dee," features a larger band plus singer Gayle Moran on a few other songs and even welcomes fellow keyboardist Herbie Hancock for the "Mad Hatter Rhapsody." The most interesting selection, a quartet rendition of "Humpty Dumpty" with tenorman Joe Farrell set the stage for his next project, Friends. Overall, this is an interesting and generally enjoyable release.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-mad-hatter-mw0000105344

Personnel: Chick Corea - piano, synthesizer, marimba, percussion, vocals, arrangement;  Joe Farrell - tenor saxophone, flute, piccolo;  Herbie Hancock - electric piano on Falling Alice and The Mad Hatter Rhapsody;  Jamie Faunt - bass;  Eddie Gómez - bass;  Steve Gadd - drums;  Harvey Mason - drum;  Gayle Moran - vocals

The Mad Hatter

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David Kikoski & Eddie Gomez & Al Foster - Presage

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:52
Size: 121,5 MB
Art: Front

(8:12)  1. Hope
(8:34)  2. Blue TImes
(6:16)  3. In the Still of the Night
(5:58)  4. Presage
(8:34)  5. Dirty Dogs
(6:34)  6. I've Got you under my Skin
(4:37)  7. Doorways
(4:03)  8. A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square

On this early effort, pianist David Kikoski is joined by bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Al Foster. While Kikoski's use of synthesizers on several cuts dates the material to some degree, there's still some great playing and writing to be heard. There are also historical details worth mentioning: "Dirty Dogs" would later appear on Billy Hart's 1993 album Amethyst, and "Hope," the opening track, would later appear on Al Foster's 1997 album Brandyn (both of these later discs feature Kikoski himself).

In addition to these and three other solid originals, there are also swinging versions of two Cole Porter tunes, "In the Still of the Night" and "I've Got You Under My Skin," and a closing solo piano meditation on "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." Even though this is far from Kikoski's most mature work, his harmonic wizardry and stunning chops are very much in evidence. ~ David R.Adler http://www.allmusic.com/album/presage-mw0000619575

Personnel: David Kikoski - Piano, Synthesizers;; Eddie Gomez – Bass; Al Foster - Drums

Presage

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Eliane Elias - Eliane Elias Plays Jobim

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1989
Time: 58:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 132,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:46) 1. Waters Of March / Agua De Beber
(4:25) 2. One Note Samba
(3:00) 3. Don't Ever Go Away (Por Causa De Voce)
(3:03) 4. Sabiá
(5:11) 5. Passarim
(8:27) 6. Don't Ever Go Away
(6:32) 7. Desafinado
(5:31) 8. Angela
(8:52) 9. Children's Games
(5:46) 10. Dindi
(2:24) 11. Zingaro

This is not an album for those die-hard bossa fans. These popular Jobim tunes all were revisited by Elias with the goal of bridging the gap between Brazilian music and jazz; that goal was achieved. She affirms herself in this complex idiom, resulting in an album that can be enjoyed by any jazz connoisseur.

On this record, Elias responds successfully to all the challenges that come with interpreting a legendary artist like Jobim. Enriching Jobim's harmonies through her own musical wisdom, already in the album's first track ("Waters of March"/"Água de Beber"), she escapes from the trap of a conventional soothing rendition. Together with the talents of percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, she instills there a true Brazilian samba spirit, with its restless, somewhat aggressive quality. "Sabiá," usually recalled under Jobim's dense orchestration, receives a delicate ad-lib treatment that metamorphoses into a ballad.

"Desafinado," one of the best known Jobim tunes in America, may be the biggest surprise, with itsunstable jazz rhythm joined by creative re-harmonization. "Angela," a haunting, mysterious melody, is properly explored as a calm ballad. "Zíngaro," or "Retrato Em Preto E Branco," is faithful to its Brazilian sentiment in which a ballad feel menaces to take charge but is soon substituted by a typically Brazilian melancholy. "Samba de Uma Nota Só," in a funky interpretation, is not recognizable until they come to the bridge.

Then a samba feel takes place, with hot solos and cuíca interventions with the jazzy drumming of deJohnette's enriching the overall pancultural result. The album closes with Elias singing "Don't Ever Go Away" with her heartfelt tone backed by a piano that betrays the classical music tradition inherent to the formation of the Brazilian sensitivity. By Alvaro Neder
https://www.allmusic.com/album/eliane-elias-plays-jobim-mw0000315237#review

Personnel: Piano, Voice – Eliane Elias; Bass – Eddie Gomez; Drums – Jack DeJohnette

Eliane Elias Plays Jobim

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Eliane Elias - Brazilian Classics

Styles: Vocal, Piano, Brazilian Jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:45
Size: 169,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:10)  1. Passarim
(3:50)  2. Chega De Saudade
(5:08)  3. Carioca Nights (Noites Cariocas)
(3:54)  4. Garota De Ipanema (Girl From Ipanema)
(7:50)  5. Milton Nascimento Medley
(4:46)  6. Waters Of March / Aqua De Beber
(4:23)  7. One Note Samba
(4:14)  8. Crystal And Lace
(2:09)  9. Jazz 'n' Samba (So Danço Samba)
(4:59) 10. Brazil (Aquarela Do Brasil)
(3:10) 11. Iluminados
(5:14) 12. Jet Samba (Samba Do Aviao)
(3:46) 13. Wave
(6:39) 14. Black Orpheus (Manhã De Carnaval)
(5:48) 15. Dindi
(1:37) 16. O Polichinelo (Clown)

Now that longtime Blue Note pianist/singer Eliane Elias has left the label for RCA/Bluebird, several compilations of her work are being released, including the present item, Brazilian Classics. A cynic might note “just in time for Christmas,” but even if its release is motivated mainly by marketing concerns, the CD provides a useful, focused troll through Elias’s back catalogue. Although Elias has ranged far and wide in her recordings (which include hard bop, pop-jazz, and classical pieces), this is the music with which she is most associated  bossa/jazz classics from the songbooks of Jobim, Nascimento, and others from her native Brazil. Elias is at home with this material and her piano work is muscular and confident. As such, the best tracks on the album are the instrumentals that feature her in a trio setting, mostly with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Throughout punchy and inventive takes on “Passarium,” “One Note Samba,” and “Black Orpheus,” Elias goes toe-to-toe with the rhythm section, with exciting results. Her tendency to introduce subtle reharmonizations and rhythmic variations keeps these well-worn tunes from sounding like boring retreads.

Somewhat less successful are the tracks featuring her vocals. While her thin yet husky delivery is appropriately unstudied on Só Danço Samba,” it can’t quite carry “Chega De Saudade” or “Girl From Ipanema” convincingly. Having Elias’s young daughter sing on “Ponta de Areia” was not the wisest of decisions either, bringing to mind, as it does, grade school recitals best left forgotten. That said, however, Brazilian Classics is an appealing listen, thematically unified and impeccably produced. The hardcore jazz fan may do better with Elias’s Plays Jobim album, from which many of the best tracks with Gomez and DeJohnette are taken. But bossa nova fanatics, or maybe those wishing for a warm Brazilian breeze in the dead of winter, will enjoy this generous selection of Elias’s work.By Joshua Weiner https://www.allaboutjazz.com/brazilian-classics-eliane-elias-blue-note-records-review-by-joshua-weiner.php

Personnel: Eliane Elias, piano, vocals; Eddie Gomez, Marc Johnson, bass; Jack DeJohnette, Peter Erskine, drums; Michael Brecker, sax; Cafe, percussion

Brazilian Classics

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Smith Dobson, Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez - Smithzonian

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:47
Size: 99,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:35) 1. Smithzonian
(5:00) 2. Lullaby For V
(4:32) 3. Getting Sentimental Over You
(4:20) 4. Tones For Joan's Bones
(4:00) 5. Warning
(6:49) 6. Where Or When
(3:31) 7. Ottawa On
(4:58) 8. Isotope
(4:58) 9. It's A Quiet Thing

Steve Gadd: is one of the most sought-after studio/live drummers in the world. His feel, technique, and musicality on such tunes as Paul Simon's "Fifty Ways", Steely Dan's "Aja", and Chick Corea's "Nite Sprite" were so awe-inspiring and his concepts so innovative that they instantly assured his special position in the history of the percussive arts. Gadd attended the Manhattan School of Music as well as Eastman School of Music. After the army, he rapidly rose to prominence with a wide variety of artists, including Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke, Rickie Lee Jones, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Dr. John, Michel Petrucciani and Stuff. Today, Gadd is as busy as ever, working with James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Blicher Hemmer Gadd, Mika Stoltzman, and his own, Grammy Award Winning Steve Gadd Band!

Eddie Gomez: was born in 1944 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He moved to New York City with his family when he was a child. He attended the New York City High School of Performing and Art, and later graduated from the Juilliard school in 1963. By age 18 he had also played with such luminaries as Paul Bley, Buck Clayton, and Marian McPartland. Soon after this period, he would begin an 11 year stint with Bill Evans and the Bill Evans Trio. He would tour and record extensively with the group during his time, with 2 albums winning grammy awards. Eddie Gomez left the Bill Evans Trio in 1977, and has since played with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, George Benson, McCoy Tyner, Hank Jones, Nancy Wilson, and Chick Corea. Two of the albums that Eddie Recorded with Chick have been awarded Grammys.
Http://www.highresaudio.com/en/artist/view/5c3433e8-5e76-40ad-bbd7-9dfe05884a2d/steve-gadd-eddie-gomez-ronnie-cuber

Smith Dobson: Jazz musician Smith Dobson was a renowned pianist in the South Bay area of California. Dobson initially received his appreciation of music at a young age via his mother, who sang and taught him harmony (his father was also musical, playing piano and accordion). After attending San Francisco State University and the University of the Pacific, Dobson honed his piano skills working the Nevada casino circuit. In 1967, Dobson joined the Airmen of Note (a United States Air Force band) which was the official White House Jazz Band, as he recorded with the likes of Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Joe Pass, Arthur Prysock, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, and Nancy Wilson. Dobson then returned back home, where he either played for or recorded with such artists as Woody Shaw, Bud Shank, Frank Rosolino, Freddie Hubbard, Pharaoh Sanders, Joe Henderson, Art Pepper, Richie Cole, Eddie Jefferson, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson. In 1981, Dobson founded what would go on to become San Jose, CA's, most successful and longest-running annual jazz concerts, the Jazz Series at Garden City, during which he shared the stage with Stan Getz, Toots Thielmans, and Herb Ellis, among many others. Dobson also performed on his own, as part of a trio (which appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival from 1984 through 1993), and alongside his wife, jazz vocalist Gail Dobson. In addition to appearing on numerous albums by other artists, Dobson also released his own albums 1986's Smithzonian, 1988's Live at Garden City, and Sasha Bossa and in 1995, he was the featured pianist on arranger Ray Brown's album, Impressions of Point Lobos. Dobson also found time to teach music to others at the University of California (Santa Cruz) and San Jose State University (where he helped form the first San Jose Summer Jazz Camp), and also served on such music boards as the San Jose Jazz Society, the Stanford Jazz Alliance, and the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. On April 20, 2001, Smith Dobson was tragically killed in a car crash while driving home from a performance
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/smith-dobson-mn0000023084/biography

Personnel: Smith Dobson - Piano; Eddie Gomez - Bass; Steve Gadd - Drums

Smithzonian

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Steve Gadd - Center Stage

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:28
Size: 143,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:17) 1. Signed Sealed Delivered
(8:04) 2. Watching The River Flow
(5:15) 3. I Can't Turn You Loose
(6:14) 4. Che Ore So
(5:42) 5. Them Changes
(6:06) 6. Way Back Home
(3:50) 7. Lucky 13
(8:41) 8. Honky Tonk / I Can't Stop Loving You
(5:05) 9. My Little Brother
(6:10) 10. Things Ain't What They Used To Be

Mixed emotions must underline this review. Center Stage, featuring bassist Eddie Gomez, drummer Steve Gadd and baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber with Germany's superb WDR Big Band conducted by Michael Abene, was recorded in Cologne in January and February 2022. Sadly, Ronnie Cuber passed away in October, shortly after the album was released.

If this was Cuber's last hurrah, it thunders loudly above the rooftops, as his solos (on each of the album's nine numbers) and melodic passages are models of astuteness and control, lending the session inflexible vigor and depth. In other words, a wonderful way to take one's final recorded bow. As for Gomez and Gadd, the funky groove which prevails most of the way is their meat and potatoes, assuring that the rhythm (with help from guitarist Bruno Müller, pianist Simon Oslender and organist Bobby Sparks II) is in the very best of hands.

The session opens on a soulful note with Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and stays there for earthy readings of genial yet unassuming themes by Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Buddy Miles, Wilton Felder, Bill Doggett and a pair by Gadd ("Lucky 13" and "My Little Brother"). Pino Daniele's "Che Ore So" is an outlier, nestling in an even-tempered Latin groove behind warm solos from Gomez, Cuber and trombonist Ludwig Nuss. Nuss is one of four soloists from the WDR ranks; the others are alto saxophonist Karolina Strassmayer who trades volleys with Cuber on Dylan's "Watching the River Flow," tenor Paul Heller (Miles' "Them Changes") and trombonist Andy Hunter (Doggett's "Honky Tonk/I Can't Stop Loving You").

Besides "Che Ore So," Gomez solos on "Watching the River" and "Lucky 13," Gadd on "Signed, Sealed," Felder's "Way Back Home" and "My Little Brother," Muller on "Watching the River," Redding's "I Can't Turn You Loose" and "Them Changes," Oslender on "Signed, Sealed," "Them Changes" and "Honky Tonk." There are two organ solos by Sparks, on "I Can't Turn You Loose" and "Honky Tonk." As for the WDR, it is in the pocket all the way, blowing as if soul and funk were its natural habitat and generally keeping the enterprise swinging. For big-band enthusiasts, a rather obvious positive choice. By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/center-stage-steve-gadd-eddie-gomez-ronnie-cuber-wdr-big-band-leopard

Personnel: Michael Abene: piano; Steve Gadd: drums; Eddie Gomez: bass; Ronnie Cuber: saxophone, baritone; WDR Big Band: band/orchestra; Bobby Sparks II: organ, Hammond B3; Bruno Müller: guitar; Simon Oslender: keyboards.

Center Stage

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Bill Evans - Behind The Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: Behind The Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings Disc 1
Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:41
Size: 137,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:15) 1. Announcement By Michiel Ruyter
(3:25) 2. You're Gonna Hear From Me
(4:51) 3. Emily
(5:38) 4. Stella By Starlight
(5:03) 5. Turn Out the Stars
(6:11) 6. Waltz For Debby
(6:31) 7. 'Round Midnight
(3:32) 8. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
(4:57) 9. Alfie
(6:10) 10. Beautiful Love
(6:27) 11. My Funny Valentine
(4:36) 12. Love Theme From Spartacus

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Album: Behind The Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings Disc 2
Time: 57:48
Size: 133,1 MB

(4:41) 1. One For Helen
(5:35) 2. Quiet Now
(6:04) 3. Someday My Prince Will Come
(0:46) 4. Announcement By Aad Bos
(5:12) 5. Very Early
(4:57) 6. A Sleepin' Bee
(5:06) 7. Turn Out the Stars
(4:21) 8. Autumn Leaves
(5:34) 9. Quiet Now
(6:04) 10. Nardis
(4:39) 11. Granadas
(4:43) 12. Pavane

Zev Feldman, co-president of Resonance Records, seems to have made it his life's mission to present every unreleased note that pianist Bill Evans ever recorded. Live At Art D'Lugoff's Top Of The Gate (2012), Some Other Time (2016), Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (2017), Evans In England (2019) and Live At Ronnie Scott's (2020) represent the Bill Evans discography on the Resonance Records label, all produced by Feldman. And now 2021 finds Feldman teaming with the Elemental Music label, to release yet another long lost live recording by an Evans trio, Behind the Dikes The 1969 Netherlands Recordings.

This is music that has long been available, in an underground sort of way, on bootleg recordings of sub-standard sound quality something that is problematic in most music, unforgivable in regards to Bill Evans. That has changed with this official release. The sound is crisp and clean, showcasing the pristine and distinctive Evans touch, and the always remarkable interplay with this particular trio, with Evans joined by bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell.

Evans' best trio, with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian that produced the groundbreaking Sunday At the Village Vanguard (1961) and Waltz For Debby (1962), both on Riverside Records was short-lived, due to La Faro's death in a car accident. The pianist's second best trio though some would certainly argue this (and they'd be wrong) is the Evans/Gomez/Morell group, the pianist's longest running trio, together seven years.

The two disc's worth of music come from a pair of performances in 1969 in the Netherlands. The group was in top form, trotting out a triple handful of tunes that were familiar mainstays in the the Evans repertoire "Emily," "Stella By Starlight," "Waltz For Debby," "Autumn Leaves" and more. These are presented by three musicians deep in a comfort zone, navigating bright up-tempo tunes and slipping into introspective reveries and breathtakingly beautiful balladry. The two takes on pianist Denny Zeitlin's "Quiet Now" are as lovely as anything this trio ever recorded, and their rendition of "Someday My Prince Will Come" is as bright and propulsive as can be in a celebratory up-tempo groove, with Morell's joyous shuffling and Gomez' assertive headlong heartbeat.

Listing a top ten of recordings from the trios of Bill Evans is near impossible. There is much superior trio work, and ten is too few slots. So start with the early, previously-mentioned Sunday At the Village Vanguard and Waltz For Debby, and then it is wide open. But Behind the Dikes would certainly be a contender.

And before we wrap up, two "bonus tracks" should be mentioned: Disc 2 ends with a "Granadas" and "Pavane," adaptations originally arranged by Claus Ogerman for Bill Evans Trio With Symphony Orchestra (Verve, 1966). Here, Evans is backed by the 50 piece Metropole Orkest on these majestically cerebral performances of music from the classical world.
By Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/behind-the-dikes-the-1969-netherlands-recordings-bill-evans-elemental-music

Personnel: Bill Evans: piano; Eddie Gomez: bass; Marty Morell: drums.

Behind The Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings Disc 1, Disc 2

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Bill Evans - Morning Glory: The 1973 Concert at the Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 92:03
Size: 212,5 MB
Art: Front

( 5:04) 1. Re: Person I Knew
( 6:53) 2. Emily
( 7:59) 3. Who Can I Turn To?
( 7:38) 4. The Two Lonely People
( 5:11) 5. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life
( 9:05) 6. My Romance
( 4:33) 7. Morning Glory
( 6:50) 8. Up With the Lark
( 6:20) 9. T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune)
( 6:16) 10. Esta tarde vi llover
(13:35) 11. Beautiful Love
( 7:58) 12. Waltz for Debby
( 4:35) 13. My Foolish Heart

1973 was a time of political volatility and unrest. Argentina's former President Juan Peron was returning to the country after many years in exile. The controversy brought emotions to the surface and created a dangerous environment. Just what three jazz cats didn't need to hear as they made their way to Buenos Aires for a concert. There is an unwritten code of understanding, however, that musicians and athletes are to walk freely. They are artists after all, often considered above the common bourgeois.

Pianist Bill Evans along with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell landed in Buenos Aires with some trepidation, no doubt. They were protected from harm's way and escorted to the Teatro Gran Rex to perform. Oddly the concert was at ten o'clock in the morning due to the extraordinary circumstances in which the country was engulfed.

The trio opened with "Re: Person I Knew." The Evans original was first recorded on his album Moon Beams (Riverside, 1962) and later became the name of a live album, Re: Person I Knew (Fantasy, 1981). Here it served as a chance for each of them to play, get their collective footing, and relax into a comfort zone. As it turned out, any hostility going on was not brought into the concert hall. The crowd was most appreciative and perhaps eager for a temporary escape. "Emily," a tune written for the motion picture The Americanization of Emily (British MGM, 1962) followed wistfully, charming and delighting a most receptive audience. Imagination might see Emily sliding across the floor before Gomez raised the bar with a meaty bass solo. Evans cued into the kicked-up tempo as the trio was now highly engaged in the moment. The classic "Who Can I Turn To?" was reimagined as rousing applause turned to silence to take in Evan's sentimental and soft opening refrain. Gomez and Morell started to pull and punctuate the tune into a more spirited groove, in which both Evans and the crown invested.

It was time for Evans to securely grab the reins. "The Two Lonely People" has become a jazz standard, recorded many times, first appearing on The Bill Evans Album (Columbia, 1971). Here Evans stretches his ample jazz skills, moving in many directions with sumptuous note selections. Gomez and Morell comping well, with Gomez turning a bowed comp into a short duet with Evans. The most handsome rendition is closed by Evans with alternately strong and gentle lines. The enthusiastic crowd got louder as every song ended, but also were completely silent as the music was played. There was a beautiful silence as Evans touched the opening chords to "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life," from the studio album From Left To Right (MGM, 1971). The progressions washed in like a warm summer breeze as the trio embraced the groove and straddled its natural beat. A stunning turn on the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart tune "My Romance" rolled into over nine minutes of bliss. A song that Evans had made his own over the years, recording it on both studio and live albums, was first recorded by Evans on his debut album, New Jazz Conceptions (Riverside, 1957). This time Evans left a lot of space for Gomez and Morell by walking off stage for several minutes. Morell in particular taking advantage of the opportunity for some extensive and feverish drumming.

Evans clearly had a well thought game plan as he chose songs from many of his records and sequenced them for maximum flow. The title track of this live recording, "Mornin'Glory," was introduced as lyrical poetry with the trio shining together in every moment. They continued as one, save for a melodic solo from Gomez, on "Up With The Lark." They moved gently, yet swiftly into the song that soon became a favorite of Evans for live performances. It was debuted earlier in the year in Tokyo and released the following year as The Tokyo Concert (Fantasy, 1974). The complexities of "T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune)" then stopped at every floor of the musical elevator. The dynamic Evans' composition was, and always is, an experiment in time and creativity. The trio dug into the tune from The Bill Evans Album with abandon. A beautiful and well received surprise for the South American crowd was a sincere take on "Esta tarde Vi Llover (This Afternoon I Heard The Rain)." The tune was played with such heart by Evans, with the strength of Gomez, and Morrell's brushwork significant, as they had been throughout the sparkling show. With many in tears, the crowd rose to loud applause as the trio left the stage. It continued until Evans began "Beautiful Love," from the album Explorations (Riverside, 1961). The thirteen minute encore was driven in a multitude of directions, but they all led to the heart and soul of an audience seeking refuge from the storm.

Now with an even deeper appreciation the crowd was boisterous to a frenzy. Even more so when Evans, Gomez, and Morell once again took the stage. "Waltz For Debby," perhaps his most well-known composition, was played with enthusiasm. Evans raced across the keys elevated by the jamming and popping grooves supplied by Gomez and Morell. Evans then went back to 1957 from his first record, New Jazz Conceptions, to wrap it up with gusto for this most deserving audience. Another deafening explosion of applause followed, the trio came back on stage. Perhaps just for a bow this time. But their disbelief became reality when once again Evans sat down on his bench. The trio left the crowd with the endearing "My Foolish Heart." From the record Waltz For Debby (Riverside, 1962), which not surprisingly also featured a second take of "Waltz For Debby," this third, and yes final, encore is significant in that the trio bared their hearts and souls to an audience that had done the same for them.

To be clear, the robust energy and sound from the crowd was always in between songs. You could hear a pin drop while the masters are at work. Evans was indeed in all his glory that historic morning. Gomez would seem to make a solid connection with all the drummers (and there have been many) that he has shared a rhythm section with. Here he was often set free to solo or further engage in the melody. Morell wisely followed the path and rose to the occasion when his number was called. Particularly effective was his brushwork. There are several Bill Evans live albums to enjoy. This two CD effort, whether in spite of or because of the circumstances, has a feel to it that is on to its own. A moment in time that could never be duplicated. That said, Evans returned to Buenos Aires six years later with a different trio. That concert is to be released simultaneously with Morning Glory under the name Inner Spirit (Resonance Records, 2022).By Jim Worsley https://www.allaboutjazz.com/morning-glory-bill-evans-resonance-records

Personnel: Bill Evans: piano; Eddie Gomez: bass; Marty Morell: drums.

Morning Glory: The 1973 Concert at the Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires

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Jeremy Steig - Fusion

Styles: Flute Jazz
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:03
Size: 179,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:39) 1. Home
(4:52) 2. Cakes
(4:12) 3. Swamp Carol
(4:50) 4. Energy
(4:14) 5. Down Stretch
(6:47) 6. Give Me Some
(8:02) 7. Come With Me
(2:22) 8. Dance Of The Mind
(5:23) 9. Up Tempo Thing
(5:55) 10. Elephant Hump
(3:03) 11. Rock #6
(6:33) 12. Slow Blues In G
(5:50) 13. Rock #9
(4:14) 14. Rock #10
(7:02) 15. Something Else

Fusion pairs the entirety of Jeremy Steig's landmark 1971 Capitol release Energy alongside unreleased material from the same sessions. Energy is a miracle of alchemy Jeremy Steig transforms his flute from the ethereal to the elemental, forging a heavy, deeply funky jazz-rock record that defies gravity. Paired with keyboardist Jan Hammer, bassists Gene Perla and Eddie Gomez, and drummer Don Alias, Steig creates Technicolor grooves that float like butterflies and sting like bees.

His music doesn't so much fuse jazz and rock as it approaches each side from the perspective of the other, exploring their respective concepts and executions to arrive at a sound all its own. If anything, the tonal restrictions of Steig's chosen instrument push him even farther into the unknown, employing a series of acoustic and electronic innovations to expand the flute's possibilities seemingly into the infinite. While some of the unissued content here is no less astounding, as a whole Fusion feels like too much of a good thing; one can't help but miss the focus and shape of Energy in its original incarnation.~Jason Ankenyhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/fusion-mw0001883206

Personnel: Jeremy Steig - Flute, Flute (Alto), Piccolo; Eddie Gomez - Bass (Electric); Jan Hammer - Gong, Piano (Electric); Don Alias - Percussion, Conga, Drums; Sonny; Gene Perla - Bass, Bass (Electric)

Fusion

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Don Sebesky - I Remember Bill - A Tribute To Bill Evans

Styles: Crossover Jazz, Hard Bop

Year: 1998

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 78:34

Size: 183,6 MB

Art: Front

(4:46)  1. Waltz for Debby

(5:29)  2. I Remember Bill

(8:24)  3. So What

(4:07)  4. Quiet Now

(6:16)  5. All the Things You Are

(6:47)  6. Peace Piece

(5:58)  7. Bill, not Gil

(7:22)  8. Very Early

(4:22)  9. (T.T.T.T.) Twelve Tone Tune Two

(4:52) 10. Autumn Leaves

(5:06) 11. Blue in Green

(7:52) 12. I'm Getting Sentimental over You

(1:18) 13. Epilogue

(5:53) 14. Bill Evans Interview

Veteran arranger Don Sebesky crafts an often-glowing portrait of famed jazz pianist Bill Evans in this quite welcome orchestral jazz tribute. While he is too often derided (and unfairly) as the guy who mucked up Wes Montgomery and other CTI stars with strings and horn sections, Sebesky often presents subtle arrangements that offer keen respect for a soloist's musicianship. When a listener notices Sebesky's work, it's often in the occasional punctuation mark or interesting sound combinations he creates. But it's his respect for the featured musician that sets him apart and probably drew him to this project. Here, Sebesky has gathered a prominent collection of top-shelf jazz musicians, many of whom actually worked with Evans during his career. But one instrumentalist he did not recruit was a pianist. A wise move. This permits appropriate direction from the bassist and drummer and allows reliance on a rhythm player who is not burdened by aping or avoiding Bill Evans' style. Such daunting responsibility falls to the guitarist; in most cases, Larry Coryell, who is outstanding in his eight appearances here and, perhaps, emerges as this session’s real star.

The material is carefully drawn from Evans' originals and standards associated with the pianist. But, in a quest for variety, the result is something of a mixed bag. Standouts include sterling takes of "All the Things You Are" (with Lee Konitz), Sebesky's oddly-titled "Bill, Not Gil" and "T.T.T.T." (both featuring Bob Brookmeyer and Eddie Daniels) and, of course, "Waltz for Debby" (with Joe Lovano and Tom Harrell). But Sebesky achieves greatness with his transformation of Evans' lovely "Peace Piece" into an elegant adagio. Effectively coordinating strings, harp, percussion and Hubert Laws' flute, he has surely crafted one for the ages here. His boisterous take on "So What" (with solid contributions from Joe Lovano, Tom Harrell and Larry Coryell) is also worthwhile, but seems reminiscent of his showy work with Wes Montgemery. The three vocal tunes (separately featuring Chet Baker-like John Pizzarelli, Jeannie Bryson and the intolerable New York Voices), though, all are quite unnecessary and seem to break any mood Sebesky may have been aiming for. Still, it's refreshing to hear high-quality orchestral jazz being made in the late nineties  and one hopes Don Sebesky will be in the forefront of keeping it alive. ~ Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/i-remember-bill-a-tribute-to-bill-evans-don-sebesky-rca-victor-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Personnel: Tom Harrell: flugelhorn; Bob Brookmeyer: valve trombone; Joe Lovano: tenor sax; Lee Konitz: alto sax; Eddie Daniels: clarinet; Hubert Laws: flute; Larry Coryell, Ken Sebesky: guitar; John Pizzarelli: guitar, vocals. Marc Johnson, Eddie Gomez: bass; Joe LaBarbera, Marty Morell, Dennis Mackrel: drums; Toots Thielmans: harmonica; Sue Evans, Joe Passaro: percussion; Dave Samuels: vibraphone; New York Voices (Darmon Meader, Lauren Kinhan, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian), Jeanie Bryson: vocals; with brass, woodwinds and strings.

I Remember Bill - A Tribute To Bill Evans

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Emily Remler - Retrospective, Volume Two "Compositions"

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1981
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:53
Size: 139,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:30) 1. Mocha Space
(5:02) 2. Nunca Mais
(6:39) 3. Waltz For My Grandfather
(7:24) 4. Catwalk
(6:28) 5. Blues For Herb
(8:03) 6. Transitions
(4:10) 7. The Firefly
(6:17) 8. East To Wes
(4:30) 9. Antonio
(7:46) 10. Mozambique

Emily Remler (September 18, 1957 – May 4, 1990) was an American jazz guitarist who rose to prominence in the 1980s. She recorded seven albums of hard bop, jazz standards and fusion guitar.

Born in New York City, Remler began to play the guitar at the age of ten. Initially inspired by rock artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Winter as well as other popular styles of music, she experienced a musical epiphany during her studies from 1974 to 1976 at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She began to listen to such legendary jazz greats as Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Pat Martino, Charlie Christian, Miles Davis and John Coltrane and took up jazz with a ferocious intensity, practicing almost constantly and never looked back. After graduating Berklee at age 18 she started her professional career touring around the USA.

Remler's first significant and formative step as a fledgling professional musician was to settle in New Orleans where she played in blues and jazz clubs working with bands such as FourPlay and Little Queenie and the Percolators before beginning her recording career in 1981. She was championed by guitar great Herb Ellis, who referred to her as "the new superstar of guitar". Ellis introduced her to the world at the Concord, CA Jazz Festival in 1978. In an interview with People magazine, she once said of herself: "I may look like a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey, but inside I’m a 50-year-old, heavyset black man with a big thumb, like Wes Montgomery." ~People Mag. 1982~ Recorded for the famous Concord label, Remler's albums showcase the diverse influences of a fast-developing artist who quickly attained a distinctive jazz style on the guitar through her interpretations of jazz standards and her own compositions.

Her first album as a band leader, Firefly, won immediate acclaim and her bop guitar on the follow-up, Take Two, was equally well received. Transitions and Catwalk traced the emergence of a more individual voice, with many striking original tunes, while her love of Wes Montgomery shone through on the stylish East to Wes. When the rhythm section is floating, I'll float too, and I'll get a wonderful feeling in my stomach. If the rhythm section is really swinging, it's such a great feeling, you just want to laugh Emily Remler In addition to her recording career as a band leader and composer, Remler played with artists as diverse as Larry Coryell, with whom she recorded an album entitled Together, and the singer Rosemary Clooney. She played on Broadway for the Los Angeles version of the show 'Sophisticated Ladies' from 1981 to 1982 and produced two popular guitar instruction videos. She also toured for several years in the early eighties as guitarist for Astrud Gilberto.

In 1985, she won the ‘Guitarist Of The Year’ award in Down Beat magazine’s international poll. In 1988, she was 'Artist in Residence' at Duquesne University and, in 1989, received Berklee's Distinguished Alumni award. She married Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander in 1981, the marriage ending in 1984. Her first guitar was her elder brother's Gibson ES-330, and she played a Borys B120 hollow body electric towards the end of the 1980s. Her acoustic guitars included a 1984 Collectors Series Ovation and a nylon string Korocusci classical guitar that she used for playing bossa nova. When asked how she wanted to be remembered she remarked: "Good compositions, memorable guitar playing and my contributions as a woman in music…. but the music is everything, and it has nothing to do with politics or the women’s liberation movement." She appealed to all audiences with her wide understanding of all forms of jazz. She gained respect from fellow musicians and critics because of her dedication, enthusiasm and remarkable skill. Remler, who was a heroin addict, died of heart failure at the age of 32 at the Connells Point home of musician Ed Gaston, while on tour in Australia. Two tribute albums were recorded after her death, Just Friends volume one and two, featuring contributions from Herb Ellis, David Benoit, Bill O'Connell and David Bromberg among many others. In 2006 the Skip Heller Quartet recorded a song called "Emily Remler" in her memory. https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/emily-remler

Personnel: Guitar – Emily Remler; Bass – Bob Maize, Buster Williams, Don Thompson, Eddie Gomez; Drums – Jake Hanna, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Terry Clarke; Drums, Percussion – Bob Moses; Piano – Hank Jones, James Williams ; Trumpet – John D'Earth

Retrospective, Volume Two "Compositions"

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Bill Evans - Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Album: Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 1
Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:16
Size: 175,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:02) 1. Five
(4:13) 2. Woody'N You (Take 2)
(5:53) 3. Young And Foolish
(5:59) 4. Autumn Leaves
(3:35) 5. How Deep Is The Ocean
(5:54) 6. Sweet And Lovely
(5:24) 7. Blue In Green
(4:58) 8. How My Heart Sings
(5:47) 9. Re: Person I Knew
(4:57) 10. My Foolish Heart (Live At The Village Vanguard / 1961)
(6:57) 11. Waltz For Debby (Live At The Village Vanguard / 1961)
(6:10) 12. Gloria's Step (Live At The Village Vanguard / 1961)
(6:25) 13. My Man's Gone Now (Live At The Village Vanguard / 1961)
(5:54) 14. Swedish Pastry (Live At Shelly's Manne-Hole / 1963)

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Album: Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 2
Time: 73:33
Size: 168,7 MB

(4:50) 1. Israel
(6:05) 2. The Peacocks
(5:54) 3. I Believe In You (feat.Shelly Manne)
(4:26) 4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
(3:30) 5. I Will Say Goodbye
(5:51) 6. Turn Out The Stars (Live At The Village Vanguard, 1967)
(3:37) 7. Walkin' Up (Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival, 1968)
(5:44) 8. Very Early (Live At Camp Fortune / 1974)
(3:48) 9. Minha (All Mine) (Live At The Wisconsin Union Theater / 1976)
(9:17) 10. My Romance (Live At L'Espace Cardin, Paris / 1979)
(7:33) 11. Days Of Wine And Roses (Live At The Village Vanguard / 1980)
(5:31) 12. The Touch Of Your Lips (Live At The Keystone Korner / 1980)
(7:20) 13. Someday My Prince Will Come (Live At The Keystone Korner / 1980)

Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 1, Disc 2

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Album: Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 3
Time: 67:34
Size: 155,0 MB

( 6:43) 1. Peace Piece
(10:40) 2. Danny Boy
( 7:12) 3. Make Someone Happy
( 5:07) 4. A Time For Love
( 1:37) 5. Waltz For Debby
( 2:20) 6. The Bad And The Beautiful
( 5:39) 7. N.Y.C.'s No Lark
( 4:56) 8. Emily
( 4:30) 9. Remembering The Rain
( 7:04) 10. I Loves You Porgy (Live At L'Espace Cardin / 1979)
( 4:52) 11. Letter To Evan (Live At L'Espace Cardin / 1979)
( 6:48) 12. Nardis (Live At The Keystone Korner / 1980)

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Album: Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 4
Time: 77:13
Size: 177,1 MB

(5:23) 1. My Funny Valentine
(5:37) 2. A Face Without A Name
(3:57) 3. The Touch Of Your Lips (Vocal Version)
(3:48) 4. I Love You
(6:37) 5. Up With The Lark (Live At L'Espace Cardin / 1979)
(6:29) 6. Funkallero (Live In Antwerp / 1974)
(5:57) 7. Who Cares?
(6:21) 8. Body And Soul
(7:04) 9. You And The Night And The Music
(6:03) 10. Time Remembered
(6:07) 11. Night And Day
(7:34) 12. A Child Is Born
(6:09) 13. Peri's Scope

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Album: Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 5
Time: 60:36
Size: 139,0 MB

( 6:54) 1. Sareen Jurer (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 7:04) 2. Sugar Plum (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 7:43) 3. The Two Lonely People (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:10) 4. T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune) (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:19) 5. Quiet Now (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 6:20) 6. Up With The Lark (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:53) 7. How Deep Is The Ocean (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:26) 8. Blue Serge (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
(10:44) 9. Nardis (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

Only occasionally do classy looking limited-edition box sets prove to be a triumph of style and substance. Too often they are undermined by cheapskate packaging, over elaborate design, poorly written and researched booklets, inadequate session details or, most egregiously, bizarre (in a bad way) track selections. So it is a more than pleasant surprise when something comes along which succeeds, and succeeds magnificently, on all those fronts. Such an item is Concord Records' Craft imprint's Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans: A Career Retrospective (1956—1980).

The 5-CD set comes in a seriously heavyweight, hard bound, velour wrapped, 12" x 10" portfolio style book with a foil-stamped cover. Inside are the discs and a stitched-in 48-page book. There are some great photographs, but the main event is an essay by the Chicago-based writer and Bill Evans connoisseur Neil Tesser. That is followed by complete session details. The whole shebang was produced Nick Phillips (check the YouTube clip below). The music itself has been newly remastered by Paul Blakemore, and immaculately so: the audio quality is off-the-scale superb.

The first four discs total playing time just under five hours cherry pick some of the greatest work Evans released on Riverside, Milestone, Verve, Warner Bros., Fantasy, Elektra/Musician, The Jazz Alliance, United Artists and Nova Discs. Discs One and Two (Trialogues Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) cover his trio recordings from 1956 to 1980. Disc Three (Monologues) surveys his solo recordings from 1958 to 1980. Disc Four (Dialogues & Confluences) takes in some of his co-headlining and sideperson work from 1962 to 1979. It is here that the only significant omission occurs: there is nothing from Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue (Columbia, 1959). Licensing difficulties, presumably.

Disc Five is the icing on the cake. It contains a recently discovered, previously unreleased, live recording of an hour-long performance Evans gave at the long since defunct Oil Can Harry's, Vancouver in June 1975, with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Eliot Zigmund. The recording appears to have been broadcast once on local radio and then put away in the station's tape archive. The performance contains no previously unrecorded material but most of it was in 1975 quite recently arrived in the set list. Evans had first recorded the opener, Earl Zindars' "Sareen Jurer," in 1974; his own "Sugar Plum," "The Two Lonely People" and "T.T.T." in 1971; and Jerome Kern's "Up With The Lark" in 1972. The other four tunes were familiar Evans fare: Denny Zeitlin's "Quiet Now," Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is The Ocean," Mercer Ellington's "Blue Serge" and, at almost eleven minutes the longest track, Miles Davis' "Nardis," the closer. The group is in terrific form and the sound quality is excellent (take a bow audio restorers Jamie Howarth, John Chester and the aforementioned Paul Blakemore). The performance is also being released on two 180-gram vinyl LPs as On A Friday Evening.Listening to the complete box set, one is reminded that Evans reached his peak of perfection, in a trio format anyway, between 1959 and 1961 with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. But that peak was so lofty that even Evans' lower slopes are heavenly and this well compiled collection contains no lower slopes, only peaks and upper slopes.~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/everybody-still-digs-bill-evans-a-career-retrospective-1956-1980-bill-evans-craft-recordings

Personnel: Bill Evans: piano; Teddy Kotick: bass; Paul Chambers: bass, acoustic; Sam Jones: bass; Scott LaFaro: bass; Chuck Israels: bass, acoustic; Eddie Gomez: bass; Gary Peacock: bass, acoustic; Marc Johnson: bass; Paul Motian: drums; Philly Joe Jones: drums; Larry Bunker: drums; Shelly Manne: drums; Jack DeJohnette: drums; Marty Morell: drums; Joe La Barbera: drums.

Additional Instrumentation: Jim Hall: guitar; Eliot Zigmund: drums; Tony Bennett: vocal; Marian McPartland; piano; Stan Getz: tenor saxophone; Cannonball Adderley: alto saxophone; Percy Heath: bass; Connie Kay: drums; Freddie Hubbard: trumpet; Zoot Sims: tenor saxophone; Ron Carter: bass; Lee Konitz: alto saxophone; Warne Marsh: tenor saxophone; Harold Land: tenor saxophone; Kenny Burrell: guitar; Ray Brown: bass; Tom Harrell: trumpet; Larry Schneider: tenor saxophone.

Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans Disc 3,4,5

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Bill Evans - On A Friday Evening

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:36
Size: 139,1 MB
Art: Front

( 6:54) 1. Sareen Jurer (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 7:04) 2. Sugar Plum (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 7:43) 3. The Two Lonely People (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:10) 4. T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune) (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:18) 5. Quiet Now (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 6:20) 6. Up With The Lark (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:53) 7. How Deep Is The Ocean (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
( 5:26) 8. Blue Serge (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)
(10:44) 9. Nardis (Live At Oil Can Harry's / 1975)

Captured in 1975, On a Friday Evening is an engaging and deeply intimate album that finds pianist Bill Evans and his trio in performance at Oil Can Harry's in Vancouver, British Columbia. Recorded by radio host Gary Barclay, the album was initially broadcast on Barclay's CHQM jazz show before languishing unheard for the next 40 years. Fully restored, this 2021 archival release finds Evans backed by one of his best latter-career rhythm sections featuring bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Eliot Zigmund. Radio broadcasts of live concerts were not unheard of in the '60s and '70s, and On a Friday Evening works as a nice companion album to the similar 2017 radio restoration On a Monday Evening, which featured the same lineup and some of the same tunes.

That said, On a Friday Evening is an even better sounding restoration and truly represents the intricate group dynamics and virtuosity they'd developed on tour together. While Gomez had been with Evans since 1968, the trio's warm and enveloping style becomes even more impressive when you realize that drummer Zigmund was barely into his first year with the pianist when they hit the stage at Oil Can Harry's in June of 1975. Together, they play with a lithe focus that balances Evans' close-eyed intensity with moments of lively, contrapuntal group interplay. Particularly enrapturing is their take on "Sugar Plum," which Evans kicks off by himself, anchoring his twirling right-hand lines with steady left-hand chords before Gomez takes his own lyrical solo. We also get equally inspired renditions of such Evans' favorites as "Sareen Jurer," "Quiet Now," and "How Deep Is the Ocean."~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/on-a-friday-evening-mw0003518440

Personnel: Bill Evans - Piano; Eddie G¢mez - bass; Eliot Zigmund - drums

On A Friday Evening

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Bill Evans - Live at Ronnie Scott's

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1968/2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 99:41
Size: 230,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:58) 1. A Sleeping Bee
(3:01) 2. You're Gonna Hear From Me
(4:53) 3. Yesterdays
(4:45) 4. Turn Out the Stars
(5:53) 5. My Man's Gone Now
(4:46) 6. Emily (Version 1)
(4:59) 7. Spring is Here
(5:58) 8. Embraceable You
(4:25) 9. For Heaven's Sake
(6:26) 10. Someday My Prince Will Come
(5:49) 11. Quiet Now
(6:52) 12. Round Midnight
(3:57) 13. Stella By Starlight
(5:24) 14. Alfie
(3:21) 15. You're Gonna Hear From Me (Version 2)
(5:00) 16. Very Early
(4:13) 17. Emily (Version 2)
(4:57) 18. Waltz for Debby
(4:34) 19. Autumn Leaves
(5:20) 20. Nardis

Bill Evans’ Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby are undoubtedly two of the finest-crafted live recordings in jazz; the musicianship is legendary, the recording pristine. Yet listening to Live at Ronnie Scott’s, a “new” live album that captures Evans with his mythic 1968 trio bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette can make those two earlier albums sound a little sterile by comparison.

The 20 tracks heard on Ronnie Scott’s are culled from a multitude of nights over a four-week engagement that the Evans-Gomez-DeJohnette trio had at the London club in 1968, recorded by DeJohnette with a four-track tape machine and a mic set up between the bass and piano. The audio, even after production work by DeJohnette and Zev Feldman, still hisses and audience chatter can be prominent, yet those qualities make this live album feel more alive. Without the formal trappings of an “official” recording, the group can just play; can defy expectation or necessity to let the music take them where it will. On numbers like “Yesterdays,” the drums roar with a raw, almost punkish ferocity, reflecting the trio’s heightening intensity as they entwine in a collectively improvised rapture. Gomez’s fingers dance across the bass strings almost subconsciously, spryly braiding the melody of “Embraceable You” into a balloon animal of a solo that maintains the original’s lightness but holds a captivating new form.

But it’s on “‘Round Midnight” where this trio reaches its zenith. The role of rhythm section was already fluid in Evans’ groups, but here any distinction of timekeeper versus soloist melts away by the song’s two-minute mark. Time is implied, kept by the constant internal pulse of the group as the three musicians thread their own melodies together. A minute later, it’s hard to tell which of them leads as each voice, in constant motion, rises to meet the latest prompt from its fellows.~ Jackson Sinnenberg https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/bill-evans-live-at-ronnie-scotts-resonance/

Personnel: Piano – Bill Evans; Bass – Eddie Gomez; Drums – Jack DeJohnette.

Live at Ronnie Scott's

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Bob Mintzer - Bop Boy

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz 
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:08
Size: 148,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:48)  1. Blue Bossa
(5:34)  2. Bop Boy
(5:41)  3. Embraceable You
(5:04)  4. Francisca
(7:18)  5. Invitation
(6:14)  6. Re-Re
(4:48)  7. Runferyerlife
(8:13)  8. Speak Low
(5:21)  9. St. James Infirmary
(8:03) 10. Why Did I Choose You

Recorded over two days in 2002, Bop Boy was previously only available in Japan on the Cheetah label. Thanks to Explore and their excellent catalog of diverse jazz and classical recordings, it is now available in the United States as well. Unlike Bob Mintzer's '80s offerings on Cheetah (Source and Papa Lips), the band used on this session is a quartet made up of star talent: bassist Eddie Gómez, the elegant pianist Steve Kuhn, and drummer Steve Gadd. On first glance it might appear that Gadd is out of place among these more subtle members of the rhythm section. Being a consummate professional as a studio musician, Gadd is an excellent jazz drummer adding grace, subtlety and tension to a very sophisticated rhythm section. Mintzer a generation younger than Gómez, and Kuhn leads this band through killer arrangements of a fine batch of standards and a trio of top-flight originals. Beginning with Kenny Dorham's and Wynton Kelly's "Blue Bossa," the swing quotient is high here. Kuhn is at his most muscular on this hard bop gem, pushing his minors and thirds right into the rim shots by Gadd. Mintzer's solo is full of deep blues feeling and economy. Mintzer wrote the title track; it is what it claims to be: bebop pure and simple. Beginning with a galloping pace set by Gómez, Gadd's ride cymbal provides fuel and Kuhn plays selectively angular chords, moving right into Mintzer's stating the head and solo. 

Kuhn's playing around the beat as the tune goes on reveals excellent counterpoint to what's being laid down by the tenor player. The tenderness with which an edgy player like Mintzer approaches "Embraceable You" is remarkable, and here Kuhn's utterly moving pianism is at its best. This is followed by a lovely soft samba called "Francisca" written by Toninho Horta. "Invitation" brings the harder edge of bluesy, post-bop into the area, and the interplay between Gómez and Gadd is nearly symbiotic. Two Mintzer originals follow, and the stroll of "Re-Re" is contrasted in a mirror with the knotty twist and turn sprint of "Runferyerlife." The reading of "St. James Infirmary" brings the tune back to the kind of mournful blues ballad it began is. Mintzer's tone on the bass clarinet is startling. He goes underneath the melody for his phrasing and fills as Kuhn offers a constant, slowly evolving wash of minor chord voicings underneath him. The ballad "Why Did I Choose You" is a perfect way to send things off as it puts on shining display the intuitive interaction between Kuhn a sublime melodist through his wide array of textured chord shapes and his sense of space and economy with the right hand in his solo. Gómez is wonderful here, flowing into the body of the tune, allowing for Gadd to lay out and enter at will. Mintzer's solo is an emotive one, but never undercuts or overwhelms the tune. Bop Boy is one of the most satisfying dates in his long career as a leader, a composer, and as an arranger. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/bop-boy-mw0000544277

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Bob Mintzer; Bass – Eddie Gomez; Drums – Steve Gadd; Piano – Steve Kuhn

Bop Boy

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Bill Evans - Half Moon Bay

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:40
Size: 122,1 MB
Art: Front

(0:41)  1. Introductions
(6:25)  2. Waltz For Debby
(5:46)  3. Time Remembered
(6:05)  4. Very Early
(4:47)  5. Autumn Leaves
(5:17)  6. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
(5:12)  7. Quiet Now
(6:35)  8. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
(4:47)  9. How My Heart Sings
(6:59) 10. Someday My Prince Will Come

It's hard to believe pianist Bill Evans (1929-1980) has been gone nearly as many years as his interesting recording career lasted. In that time, Evans's influence has become one of the most pervasive of twentieth century pianists and he endures as one of the most distinctive of jazz practitioners. In addition to the many known and famed recordings Evans made, many more that were taped privately or never issued are now beginning to become available. Half Moon Bay is one such previously unavailable recording that catches the Evans trio live at the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, an intimate living-room style club in Half Moon Bay, California, on November 4, 1973. On this beautiful and welcome occasion, Evans is heard in the familiar long-time company of bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell. Clearly the trio is relaxed and enjoying themselves and, as the notes declare, "playing beyond themselves." 

They're introspective and intuitive by nature. But here they seem to revel in this warm, inviting atmosphere and explore each other's music beautifully together. The disc begins with a more playful than usual version of Evans's well-known "Waltz for Debby," and displays that ever-evolving Evans essence on expert renditions of "Very Early," "Autumn Leaves," "Quiet Now," "Who Can I Turn To" and "Someday My Price Will Come." A special treat here is the trio's cover of Earl Zanders' (writer of "Elsa," included here and "How My Heart Sings, which is not here) "Sareen Jurer," a song Evans didn't seem to record elsewhere and a prominent showcase for bassist Gomez's entrancing bowed solo. Gomez is, in fact, prominently featured throughout, taking marvelous solos on "Autmns Leaves" and "Who Can I Turn To" too. 

Well recorded and produced, Half Moon Bay is a welcome addition to the burgeoning Bill Evans catalog and presents a compelling argument for the notability of this trio, featuring bassist Eddie Gomez, as one of the pianist's three best. Recommended. 

~ Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/half-moon-bay-bill-evans-fantasy-jazz-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Players: Bill Evans: piano; Eddie Gomez: bass; Marty Morell: drums.

Half Moon Bay

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Billy Cobham - Drum'n'voice - All that groove

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:04
Size: 125,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. Africa's Sounds
(4:46)  2. Shadow
(7:44)  3. Red Baron
(4:41)  4. Okky Dokky
(5:02)  5. Jah Spirit
(4:58)  6. I Want You Back
(5:32)  7. Sensations
(6:26)  8. Leaving Now
(5:11)  9. Hands Up!
(5:07) 10. Now That You've Gone

Generally acclaimed as fusion's greatest drummer, Billy Cobham's explosive technique powered some of the genre's most important early recordings including groundbreaking efforts by Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra before he became an accomplished bandleader in his own right. At his best, Cobham harnessed his amazing dexterity into thundering, high-octane hybrids of jazz complexity and rock & roll aggression. He was capable of subtler, funkier grooves on the one hand, and awe-inspiring solo improvisations on the other; in fact, his technical virtuosity was such that his flash could sometimes overwhelm his music. After debuting as a leader with the classic Spectrum in 1973, Cobham spent most of fusion's glory days recording for Atlantic; briefer stints on CBS, Elektra, and GRP followed, and by the mid-'80s, Cobham was de-emphasizing his own bands in favor of session and sideman work. Even so, he continued to record for various small labels with some regularity. William C. Cobham was born May 16, 1944, in Panama, where as a very young child he became fascinated with the percussion instruments his cousins played. When Cobham was three, his family moved to New York City, and at age eight he made his performance debut with his father. He honed his percussion skills in a drum-and-bugle corps outfit called the St. Catherine's Queensmen, and attended New York's prestigious High School of Music and Art, graduating in 1962. From 1965 to 1968, he served as a percussionist in the U.S. Army Band, and after his release, he was hired as the new drummer in hard bop pianist Horace Silver's band. 

Cobham toured the U.S. and Europe with Silver in 1968, and also moonlighted with Stanley Turrentine, Shirley Scott, and George Benson. After eight months with Silver, Cobham departed to join the early jazz-rock combo Dreams in 1969, which also featured the Brecker brothers and guitarist John Abercrombie. From there, he landed a job in Miles Davis' new fusion ensemble, and played a small part in the seminal Bitches Brew sessions; he also appeared more prominently on several other Davis albums of the time, including more aggressive classics like Live-Evil and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. Cobham and guitarist John McLaughlin split off from Davis' group to pursue a harder rocking brand of fusion in the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which debuted in 1971 with the seminal The Inner Mounting Flame. With Mahavishnu, Cobham's fiery intensity was given its fullest airing yet, and his extraordinary technique influenced not only countless fusioneers in his wake, but also quite a few prog rock drummers who were aiming for similarly challenging musical territory. The 1972 follow-up Birds of Fire cemented his reputation, and by this time he had also become something of an unofficial in-house drummer for Creed Taylor's CTI label, known for a smoother, more polished style of fusion; here Cobham backed musicians like George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, Hubert Laws, and Grover Washington, Jr. Unfortunately, the volatile group chemistry that made Mahavishnu's recordings so exciting also carried over into real life and the original lineup disbanded in 1973. Deciding to make a go of it on his own, Cobham formed his own band, Spectrum (which initially featured ex-Mahavishnu cohort Jan Hammer on keyboards), and signed with Atlantic. 

His debut as a leader, also called Spectrum, was released in 1973, showcasing an exciting blend of jazz, funk, and rock that benefited from the presence of guitarists John Scofield and Tommy Bolin (the latter better known for his rock recordings); it also found Cobham experimenting a bit with electronic percussion. Spectrum is still generally acknowledged as the high point of Cobham's solo career, and holds up quite well today. Cobham followed Spectrum with a series of LPs on Atlantic that, like fusion itself, grew increasingly smoother and more commercial as the '70s wore on. For his second album, 1974's Crosswinds, ex-Dreams mate John Abercrombie joined the band, as did keyboardist George Duke, who would become a frequent Cobham collaborator over the years; that same year's performance at Montreux produced the live Shabazz.  After Total Eclipse, Cobham moved more explicitly into commercial jazz-funk with 1975's A Funky Thide of Sings, which featured an expanded horn section. He pared the group back down for the improved Life and Times in 1976, and also played Montreux again, in tandem with Duke. In 1977, Cobham switched to the CBS label, which set him firmly on the path of commercial accessibility. In addition to his records as a leader, he'd remained highly active as a session drummer, and began to focus on that side of his career even more in the late '70s. By 1980, he was done with CBS and began pursuing side opportunities, playing live with the Grateful Dead and Jack Bruce, as well as the Saturday Night Live band. He drummed for the Grateful Dead side project Bobby & the Midnites in 1982, and recorded three albums for Elektra in the early '80s with his new quartet the Glass Menagerie. 

During the mid-'80s, he cut three commercially oriented LPs for GRP, and spent the next few years stepping up his international touring and absorbing a healthy dose of world music. He played Peter Gabriel's 1992 WOMAD Festival, and the following year recorded The Traveler, inspired by a sojourn in Brazil. In 1996, he formed a more acoustic-oriented quartet called Nordic with three Norwegian musicians; the following year, he also started a German-based fusion outfit called Paradox. In 1998, Cobham began playing with a group called Jazz Is Dead, which devoted itself to jazz reinterpretations of Grateful Dead material; their album Blue Light Rain proved fairly popular among Deadheads. As Cobham maintained his touring, session, and bandleading activities, Rhino released the excellent two-CD retrospective Rudiments: The Billy Cobham Anthology in 2001. ~ Steve Huey https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-cobham-mn0000767741/biography


Personnel: Drums – Billy Cobham; Backing Vocals – Dora Nicolosi (tracks: 2, 10), Giuseppe Neri (tracks: 10), Gregg Brown (2) (tracks: 2), Troy Parrish (tracks: 10); Bass – Rossana Nicolosi (tracks: 2 to 4, 6, 7, 9, 10); Cello – Luca De Muro (tracks: 7, 9); Double Bass – Eddie Gomez (tracks: 8), Riccardo Fioravanti (tracks: 1, 5); Electric Piano – Pino Nicolosi (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10); Flugelhorn – Fabrizio Bosso (tracks: 4); Guitar – Lino Nicolosi (tracks: 2 to 6, 9, 10); Guitar [Wha Wha Guitar] – Frank Malanga; Keyboards – Pino Nicolosi (tracks: 1 to 5, 7 to 10); Organ [Hammond B3] – Pino Nicolosi (tracks: 2, 4, 9, 10); Organ [Hammond L100] – Pino Nicolosi (tracks: 3, 6); Percussion – Marco Fadda; Piano – Pino Nicolosi (tracks: 4, 8); Soprano Saxophone – Emanuele Cisi (tracks: 4, 8); Tenor Saxophone – Emanuele Cisi (tracks: 1, 2, 9); Trombone – Leonardo Govin (tracks: 4, 7, 9); Trumpet – Amik Guerra (tracks: 4, 7), Fabrizio Bosso (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 9); Viola – Lorenzo Ravazzani (tracks: 7, 9); Violin – Giorgio Molteni (tracks: 7, 9); Vocals – Dora Nicolosi (tracks: 8, 10), Gregg Brown (2) (tracks: 2, 5); Vocals, Backing Vocals – Ricky Bailey (tracks: 6); Voice – Troy Parrish (tracks: 3, 7).

Drum'n'voice - All that groove

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Jeremy Steig - Howlin' For Judy

Styles: Flute Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:31
Size: 109,6 MB
Art: Front

( 4:37)  1. Howlin' For Judy
( 5:19)  2. Mint Tea
( 4:20)  3. Alias
( 5:53)  4. Waves
( 8:15)  5. In The Beginning
(11:06)  6. Nardis
( 7:58)  7. Permutations

"Howlin' for Judy" is flutist Jeremy Steig's best-known track, thanks to the Beastie Boys' use of a sample from it in "Sure Shot." As the title track for this collection, it marks new chapter in Blue Note's Rare Groove series. This seven-track set is compiled from two different albums: 1969's Legwork, which appeared on Solid State, and 1970's Wayfaring Stranger on Blue Note itself both of which were originally produced by the great Sonny Lester. Blue Note's Michael Cuscuna produced this collection by paring down the original albums to just the tracks that featured the trio of Steig, bassist Eddie Gomez, and drummer Don Alias. Why? In order to maximize its groove quotient; Legwork had its share of duo cuts and Wayfaring Stranger had some that featured a quartet with guitar. That said, the previous outings were quite adventurous in places: they contained various blues, ostinato workouts, and more ponderous numbers, too. Cuscuna pruned away until only the deeply funky, beat-driven trio tracks remained. That said, there is plenty of adventure not just in the music, but in its production: Steig was a fan of stereo separation and overdubbing techniques that were focused to maximize the rhythmic aspects of certain tracks. His own playing style is a great cross between Hubert Laws' more soulful technique and the dynamically rich and physically percussive aspects of Rahsaan Roland Kirk both rhythmically attuned players. While many are familiar with the title cut with its two-channel overdubbed bass and flute, far fewer punters know Steig's wildly groove-drenched sound world from the era. What a treat! You are the person this compilation is directed at.

Take "Mint Tea," with Gomez offering a deep wood-toned upright ushering in Alias' skittering breaks and rolling snares. For his part, Steig blows, whispers, moans, and groans through the flute, using an astonishing array of techniques. (Anyone who has ever thought of the flute as an airy, effete instrument has obviously never heard him play!) Alias gets busy with the kit, offering Gomez a solid beat to get behind. There are layers of hand percussion, shakers, and cymbals overdubbed onto that rhythm, so Alias can feel free to let the breakbeats fall. Gomez is hypnotic in his steadiness, and Steig enters by blowing another rhythm track and a staggered melody track overdubbed on top. Only four minutes and 20 seconds in length, this monster is all too brief but ripe for beatheads to plunder. There is a beautiful and provocative version of Miles Davis' "Nardis" here, too. It begins sparsely as an Eastern-tinged flute solo on the melody; when the rhythm section enters at about the two-minute mark, it becomes an exploratory folk melody before Alias and Gomez ramp it up into a finger-popping bop number. This might throw some the first time through, but it is one of the hippest numbers on the disc. "Waves," a more languid groover, is a bit more elemental; but when it comes to rhythm and grooves that's a stone positive quality the pizzicato work by Gomez on this baby is stellar. Ultimately, Howlin' for Judy signals a new kind of compilation where a certain period in an artist's oeuvre is mined for maximum aesthetic effect. Cuscuna took this material from a very brief period in Steig's development as an artist, but he came up with a monster that withstands not only repeated listening, but the hard critical assessment of hipsters, club connoisseurs, and jazz fans. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/howlin-for-judy-mw0000791388

Personnel:  Flute [Flutes] – Jeremy Steig; Bass – Eddie Gomez; Drums, Percussion – Don Alias

Howlin' For Judy

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Eddie Gomez - Power Play

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:31
Size: 100,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:39)  1. Power Play
(3:53)  2. Loco Motive
(5:15)  3. Spanish Flower
(5:04)  4. Mel
(5:46)  5. Amethyst
(5:02)  6. Mr. Go
(3:50)  7. Very Early
(3:58)  8. W. 110th St.
(4:59)  9. Forever

Eddie Gomez (born October 4, 1944) is a jazz bassist. He was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico; he emigrated with his family at a young age to the United States and grew up in New York. He started on double bass in the New York City school system at the age of eleven and at age thirteen went to the New York City High School of Music and Art. He went on to study with Fred Zimmerman. He played in the Marshall Brown-led Newport Festival Youth Band from 1959 to 1961, and was later educated at Juilliard.His impressive resumé includes performances with jazz giants such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Gerry Mulligan, Benny Goodman, Buck Clayton, Marian McPartland, Paul Bley, Wayne Shorter, Jeremy Steig, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Chick Corea and Carli Muñoz. Time Magazine lauded: “Eddie Gómez has the world on his strings”. Eddie Gómez would spend a total of eleven years with Bill Evans Trio which included performances throughout the United States, Europe, and the Orient, as well as dozens of recordings. Two of the Trio's recordings won Grammy awards. In addition, he was a member of the Manhattan Jazz Quintet.His career mainly consists of working as an accompanist, a position suited for his quick reflexes and flexibility.In addition to working as a studio musician for many famous jazz musicians, he has recorded as a leader for Columbia Records, Projazz and Stretch. Most of his recent recordings as a leader, are co-led by jazz pianist Mark Kramer. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/eddiegomez

Personnel:  Bass – Eddie Gomez; Drums – Steve Gadd,, Al Foster; Keyboards – LeeAnn Ledgerwood; Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker; Flute; Michael Cochrane - Soprano Saxophone – Dick Oatts; Flute – Jeremy Steig

Power Play

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Mike Nock - Ondas

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1981
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:14
Size: 117,6 MB
Art: Front

(15:58)  1. Forgotten Love
( 9:11)  2. Ondas
(11:35)  3. Visionary
( 7:59)  4. Land Of The Long White Cloud
( 6:28)  5. Doors

At the time of this recording, New Zealand's Mike Nock was one of the great, unsung pianists in European stlyed jazz. His elegant phrasing and wildly inventive melodicism fly in the face of all notions that claim improvisation must be outside Western musical parameters and structures. On Ondas, Nock has assembled a rhythm section that, while never having played together before shared the ability to create the bedrock, however flexible, for the artist's crystalline compositions and solos. Eddie Gomez was a wise choice for this session because of his experience with Bill Evans, who is an obvious influence on Nock's own composing -- as is Keith Jarrett. His pizzicato flourishes and shifting timbres on "Forgotten Love" and "Visionary," while retaining an elemental sense of meter, are remarkable. Christensen is the greatest of all the drummers in the ECM stable. His style is one of paucity and sparse riffs, but his cymbal "dancing" is a trademark favorite of pianists and saxophonists everywhere. He has the ability to open up time, creating a window for improvisers to stretch each note, each interval, each mode, for all it's worth, suspending notions of time and space for the listener. Evidence is on the title track and "Land of the Long White Clouds." For his part, Nock is a magician of lyrical invention. His compositional architecture is created of minor modes and subtle textures. His chords are small enough to be their own rhythm section and large enough to fit all the notes in between them and the next octave in combinatory gestures of shimmering beauty. He does all of this in a manner in which tension and its resolution are in constant flux, never out of balance with one another. His solo on "Forgotten Love," that is based upon Gomez', is a case in point: towering ivy clusters of notes flex over darkened minor chords, up and through the middle and then upper registers of the instrument before inviting Gomez back in. In all, this is a glorious recording by a crack batch of musicians. It is also a stellar example of what Manfred Eicher's label and production offer to the world. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/ondas-mw0000193926

Personnel:  Mike Nock - piano, percussion; Eddie Gómez - bass; Jon Christensen - drums

Ondas

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