The legendary edition of
the Bill Evans Trio featured impeccable drummer
Paul Motian and ill-starred bassist
Scott LaFaro; they made a handful of recordings for Riverside, but their only released live sessions came from their final engagement at the Village Vanguard in June, 1961. The release of these airchecks from four separate broadcasts is a welcome addition to their discography. There are three excellent takes of "Autumn Leaves," with the first kicked off by a long
Scott LaFaro solo.
Evans offers a stunning seven-minute "Nardis," which is possibly his earliest live recording of the piece that he would perform and record many more times.
LaFaro delivers a compelling solo that only hints at the potential that was extinguished with his death in an auto crash following the famous 1961 Village Vanguard sessions. Even with the noise typically found in releases made from vintage radio broadcasts, this is a historic session worth the extra effort to locate.