The
Bill Evans volume in the
Riverside Profiles series contains the standard ten selections; they are taken from his six years with the label from 1956-1962. These volumes primarily serve as budget-priced introductions to any given artist, and this one is no exception. There are four tunes here taken from the most famous
Bill Evans Trio that included bassist
Scott LaFaro and drummer
Paul Motian -- "Blue in Green" (1959), "Waltz for Debby," "My Man's Gone Now," and "Israel" (all from 1961). There are also three tunes taken from the band with bassist
Chuck Israels (who replaced
LaFaro after he was killed in a car accident); they are "Isn't It Romantic" with drummer
Larry Bunker (1963) and "How My Heart Sings" and "Re: Person I Knew," both with
Motian from 1962. The final three tunes include a solo reading of "Peace Piece" from the
Everybody Digs Bill Evans set in 1958; the title cut from the beautifully understated album with
Freddie Hubbard,
Jim Hall,
Percy Heath, and
Philly Joe Jones from 1962; and "Speak Low" from
Evans' debut album, New Jazz Conceptions with
Motian and
Teddy Kotick recorded in 1956. This is a fine introduction to
Evans' early compositions and his arranging style that would come to fruition in
the Miles Davis Quintet with
John Coltrane and
Cannonball Adderley on the
Kind of Blue sessions for Columbia. The lyric genius of
Evans seemed fully in place from the very beginning, and simply grew from there.
Evans fans will find nothing here they don't already have. These
Riverside Profiles editions also come with a second disc sampler from the rest of the volumes in the series, including tracks by
Thelonious Monk,
Charlie Byrd,
Art Blakey,
Chet Baker,
Adderley,
Bobby Timmons, and
Wes Montgomery. The sound is warm and righteous and the price is certainly right for those seeking a fine smattering of material from one of the greatest piano stylists in jazz. ~ Thom Jurek