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As has been said many times, this album occupies a unique place in the Bill Evans discography. It is the only album that documents drummer Jack deJohnette's all too brief stay in the trio. The trio's performance on this album won them the 1969 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
By the time this set was recorded in Montreux on 15 June 1968, Eddie Gomez and Evans had been playing together for two years. Gomez had a different virtuosity from Scott LaFaro in Evans' classic trio five years earlier, but he was clearly the best bassist Evans had worked with since LaFaro's tragic death. The groove between the two was both deep and comfortable, so comfortable that on this set Evans did something he'd never done before, at least on a recording: he put Gomez front and centre for an entire track, the nearly seven-minute 'Embraceable You'.
As Gene Lee's liner notes describe, Evan's performance at the prestigious jazz festival at the Montreux Casino nightclub, one of Switzerland's most fashionable resorts, was one of his best. He and Gomez played with more exuberance, more joie de vivre and more drive. The brooding, introspective side of Evans' music has long been represented on record; the upbeat side has been too little heard, but it's here on this album.
At the end of each number, the audience exploded in applause, so rapturous and prolonged that it had to be heavily edited for the album.
Enjoy this sparkling Bill Evans piano performance, made all the more delightful by Bernie Grundman's professional mastering from the original analogue tape. Only the finest vinyl pressing could be used for this edition - a super-quiet, classy-sounding disc from Quality Record Pressings, makers of the world's best-sounding LPs. First class and of the highest quality, this album will make an excellent addition to your record collection.
Bill Evans (p); Eddie Gomez (b); Jack DeJohnette (dr)
Side One
1. One For Helen
2. A Sleepin' Bee
3. Mother Of Earl
4. Nardis
Side Two
1. I Loves You Porgy
2. The Touch Of Your Lips
3. Embraceable You
4. Someday My Prince Will Come
5. Walkin' Up