| 內容簡介 | Bill Evans一手創立了爵士樂裡以鋼琴為主的三重奏標準，在Evans之前，鋼琴三重奏絕對無法以主角身份作演出的單位元素，這卻實有賴Bill Evans一手獨特富浪漫色彩的鋼琴詮釋手法。生於1929年的Evans，沒有對於傳統爵士鋼琴的語法產生共鳴，相反地卻以鋼琴手Lennie Tristano、Horace Silver及Bud Powell等另類樂手觸發其靈感。1956年Evans短暫地加入Charles Mingus的隊伍，在次年，加入Miles Davis經典作品“The Kind of Blue”的錄音工作，使得他對於“Cool Jazz”的理念更形鞏固。Bill Evans Trio的合作伙伴以Scott LaFaro、Eddie Gomez及鼓手Paul Motian為主，其最成功之處在於Evans對於三重奏樂手間互動性的開放態度，以及對於Standard樂曲的全心體會，使得以鋼琴為主的三重奏事業得以在此時大放異彩。雖然Evans強調三重奏的重要性，但於60年代他退午後與歌手Tony Bennett甚至伸縮喇叭手Bob Brookmeyer的二重奏合作，亦贏得不少美譽。
這八張CD是收集了Bill於1980年在舊金山九場的表演，結束這次表演一星期後Bill就離開這世上了，這也是他最後的現場表演錄音，他在身體狀況不佳下，還是展現精湛的琴藝及無與倫比的毅力。這套錄音給予後人無限的追思懷念。
The Last Waltz is a profoundly moving valedictory. These eight discs find Evans's poetic piano infused with a life-force that is palpable, even on the most brooding ballads. The terrible irony, of course, is that though we seldom heard this great artist in more expansive form than is so evident here, Evans (1929-1980) was near death, knew it and , conseqently, was exceptionally driven to make every note count. This only adds to the poignancy of these, his final recordings.
The Lst Waltz's 65 previously unreleased performances take in 32 different melodies, most of them standards, as well as nine Evans originals. The sessions stem from eight nights at a one-time San Francisco jazz landmark by the pianist's last outstanding trio, during what would prove to be the penultimate week of his life. This collection is additionally notable for its repertoire, amounting to a beautifully-charted Evans Retrospective. Buoyed and consistently challenged by the young but adept bass-drums team of Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera, who had joined him in 1978 and 1979, respectively, Evans rethinks, reconfigures, and revitalizes many of the touchstone pieces spanning his brilliant career.<摘錄自媒體封面或內頁> |