The Bill Evans Trio - Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Bill Evans – piano [click here to see more vinyl featuring Bill Evans]
Drums – Philly Joe Jones (A1-2, A4, B1, B3-4) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Philly Joe Jones]
Bass – Sam Jones (A1-2, A4, B1, B3-4)
Written by Bill Evans (A5, B2, B5), Gigi Gryce (A1), Albert Hague (A2), Arnold Horwit (A2), Adolph Green (A3), Betty Comden (A3), Leonard Bernstein (A3), Cole Porter (A4), Walter Gross (B1), E. Y. Harburg (B3), Vernon Duke (B3), Sonny Rollins (B4)
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified
Label : Original Jazz Classics
Original Label : Riverside Records
Recorded at Reeves Sound Studios, New York; December 15, 1958.
Engineered by Jack Higgins
Produced by Orrin Keepnews
Photography by Lawrence Shustak*
Liner Notes by Orrin Keepnews
Cover design by Harris Lewine, Ken Braren, Paul Bacon
Originally released in March 1959
Reissued in 1983
Tracks:
Side A:
- Minority
- Young and Foolish
- Lucky To Be Me
- Night and Day
- Epilogue
Side B:
- Tenderly
- Peace Piece
- What Is There to Say?
- Oleo
- Epilogue
Awards:
Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums
Reviews:
“Everybody Digs Bill Evans was a landmark recording for the young pianist and sported a unique album cover, featuring written-out endorsements from Miles Davis, George Shearing, Ahmad Jamal, and Cannonball Adderley. At a time approximate to when Evans was performing with the famous Kind of Blue band of Davis, Adderley, and John Coltrane, and actually departing the band, Evans continued to play the trio music he was ultimately best known for. With the unmatched pair of former Miles Davis drummer Philly Joe Jones and bassist Sam Jones (no relation), Evans was emerging not only as an ultra-sensitive player, but as an interpreter of standards second to none. The drummer is quite toned down to match the dynamics of the session, while the ever-reliable bassist lays back even more than usual, but at the expense of his soul. Of the covers, the solo "Lucky to Me" and the melancholy "What Is There to Say?" with the trio evoke the cool, smoldering emotionalism Evans was known for. He's even more starkly reserved on his solo version of "Young and Foolish." But Evans also knows how to play vigorous bop, tearing up the complicated "Oleo," and he modestly tackles the Gigi Gryce icon "Minority," though if you listen closely, the takes are slightly imprecise and a bit thin. Evans is hyperactive on a clattery calypso version of "Night and Day," with the melody almost an afterthought, powered by the precise drumming of Philly Joe Jones. Taking "Tenderly" in waltz time, Evans makes this familiar theme inimitably all his own. There are three more solos: two Asian-inspired interludes titled "Epilogue" and the demure and ultimately quiet "Peace Piece," a timeless, meditational, reverent, prayer-inspired composition that, in time, set a standard for chamber/classical European-tailored jazz. In an alternate/second-version bonus track, Evans superimposes this theme under the standard "Some Other Time," and it fits beautifully. Though not his very best effort overall, Evans garnered great attention, and rightfully so, from this important album of 1958.” AllMusic Review by Michael G. Nastos
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs : 4.59 / 5