A superb collection of previously unissued recordings by
Bill Evans, 2020's
Live at Ronnie Scott's captures the legendary pianist on tour in London with his all too briefly lived trio with bassist
Eddie Gomez and drummer
Jack DeJohnette. The album is Resonance Records' third archival release to feature
Evans' trio from this period and follows 2016's
Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest and 2018's Another Time: The Hilversum Concert.
Live at Ronnie Scott's compiles recordings made during the trio's month-long 1968 residency at the famed London Soho nightclub. It was during this residency that
DeJohnette was invited to join
Miles Davis' band, ending his sixth-month run with
Evans and marking his nascent rise as a premiere post-bop and fusion drummer, somewhat of an irony considering how much
Evans' playing a decade earlier on
Kind of Blue helped defined
Davis' acoustic modal jazz era. That said, while
DeJohnette is primarily known for his more avant-garde and electrified work, he was also a gifted piano player and had a relaxed, intuitive connection with
Evans. Their work together with
Gomez is often regarded as one of the pianist's high points, and their one officially released album together at the time,
At the Montreux Jazz Festival, won a Grammy in 1969.
Evans preferred his trio partners to complement his own playing, often encouraging them to accent his playing with their own ideas. The results could be highly kinetic and
Live at Ronnie Scott's is no exception. Particularly engaging is lyrical interplay between
Gomez and
Evans, as on cuts like "My Man's Gone Now" and "Embraceable You," the latter of which finds the bassist playing the main melody with virtuosic results. Elsewhere, we get equally compelling takes on "Nardis," "Spring Is Here," and "Stella by Starlight." There are also introspective renditions of "Alfie" and "Quiet Now," as well as alternate versions of
Evans' favorites "Emily" and "You're Gonna Hear from Me." While
Evans would continue to work throughout the late '60s and into the '70s with
Gomez and drummer
Marty Morell, his trio with
DeJohnette had a special aura, one perfectly captured on
Live at Ronnie Scott's. ~ Matt Collar