The Bill Evans Trio – Moon Beams
Bill Evans – piano [click here to see more vinyl featuring Bill Evans]
Drums – Paul Motian
Bass – Chuck Israels
Written by Bill Evans (A1, B4), Johnny Burke (A2), Jimmy Van Heusen (A2), Sammy Cahn (A3), Jule Styne (A3), Matty Malneck (A4), Frank Signorelli (A4), Mitchell Parish (A4), Tadd Dameron (B1), Carl Sigman (B1), Richard Rodgers (B2), Oscar Hammerstein II (B2), Leo Robin (B3), Jerome Kern (B3)
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 May 17, 1962 (B1), May 29, 1962 (A1, B4), June 2, 1962 (all others) at Sound Makers Studio, New York City
Engineered by Bill Schwartau
Produced by Orrin Keepnews
Remastered in 1990 by Phil De Lancie at Fantasy Studios
Design by Ken Deardoff
Liner Notes by Joe Goldberg
Photography by Steve Schapiro (back line), Peter Sahula (cover photo)
Originally released in December 1962
Reissued in 2009
Tracks:
Side A:
- Person I Knew
- Polka Dots And Moonbeams
- I Fall In Love Too Easily
- Stairway To The Stars
Side B:
- If You Could See Me Now
- It Might As Well Be Spring
- In Love In Vain
- Very Early
Reviews:
“Moon Beams was the first recording Bill Evans made after the death of his musical right arm, bassist Scott LaFaro. Indeed, in LaFaro, Evans found a counterpart rather than a sideman, and the music they made together over four albums showed it. Bassist Chuck Israels from Cecil Taylor and Bud Powell's bands took his place in the band with Evans and drummer Paul Motian and Evans recorded the only possible response to the loss of LaFaro -- an album of ballads. The irony on this recording is that, despite material that was so natural for Evans to play, particularly with his trademark impressionistic sound collage style, is that other than as a sideman almost ten years before, he has never been more assertive than on Moon Beams. It is as if, with the death of LaFaro, Evans' safety net was gone and he had to lead the trio alone. And he does first and foremost by abandoning the impressionism in favor of a more rhythmic and muscular approach to harmony. The set opens with an Evans original, "RE: Person I Knew," a modal study that looks back to his days he spent with Miles Davis. There is perhaps the signature jazz rendition of "Stairway to the Stars," with its loping yet halting melody line and solo that is heightened by Motian's gorgeous brush accents in the bridge section. Other selections are so well paced and sequenced the record feels like a dream, with the lovely stuttering arpeggios that fall in "If You Could See Me Now," and the cascading interplay between Evan's chords and Israel's punctuation in "It Might as Well Be Spring," a tune Evans played for the rest of his life. The set concludes with a waltz in "Very Early," that is played at that proper tempo with great taste and delicate elegance throughout, there is no temptation by the rhythm section to charge it up or to elongate the harmonic architecture by means of juggling intervals. Moon Beams was a startling return to the recording sphere and a major advancement in his development as a leader.” AllMusic Review by Thom Jurek
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4 / 5 , Discogs : 4.68 / 5