Pianist
Bill Evans is heard as a versatile and adaptive improviser during a time period spanning 1955-1957 on
The Sideman Years, a retrospective sampler of his early recordings released in September 2007 by the Fresh Sound label. This material was drawn from four different 12" LPs: guitarist
Dick Garcia's
Message from Garcia (Dawn 1106); guitarist
Joe Puma's
Joe Puma Jazz Trio and Quartet (Jubilee 1070); progressive clarinetist
Tony Scott's
The Touch of Tony Scott (Victor 1353); and trombonist
Jimmy Knepper's A Swinging Introduction to Jimmy Knepper (Bethlehem 77). The three
Garcia sides and three titles from the
Scott session were included in
Emergence, a similar early
Evans compilation released in April 2007 by the Fivefour label. Both albums provide a contextual backdrop for this artist's mature work as a member of the
Miles Davis group.