Bill Evans: Sunday At the Village Vanguard (LP)

Conventional wisdom, which may be right in this case, holds that Bill Evans' storied career peaked on June 25, 1961, a date that produced two live recordings, Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, the final two documents of Evans' first and best trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. In the two years he had played with Evans, LaFaro had opened up new possibilities for jazz bass, playing with a harmonically quirky, melodically flexible style that was unprecedented at the time. Ten days after this record was recorded, he died, just 25 years old. Sunday at the Village Vanguard is perhaps the ultimate monument to LaFaro's talent; he features two of his compositions, "Gloria's Step" and "Jade Visions," and he plays long and dazzling solos on nearly every track. But it wasn't just LaFaro playing well - the whole trio was in top form at this point, a finely balanced unit anchored weightlessly by Motian's constantly shifting, reactive timing, while Evans' clear, impressionistic harmonies floated overhead like clouds. There are no misunderstandings in this set, but a highlight is the dark, mournful reading of Gershwin's "My Man's Gone Now." ~ Thomas Bartlett, eMusic (concordmusicgroup.com) Jazz classics reissued. Includes bonus track.