Published on May 28, 2002
Good quality music is timeless. I guess that goes without
saying. After all, if it weren’t true, why do we still listen to
some of classical music’s greats like Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin
even today?
But it still amazes me, even after all this time, when I pick up
an album that is 10, 20, or even 30 years old, and it sounds as
fresh now as it did back then. Case in point –
New Jazz Conceptions, the debut of Bill Evans as a
bandleader – and a disc which is, as of this writing, 46 years old.
One of the great misunderstood geniuses of jazz, Evans creates a
collection of tunes here which is an excellent primer to his vast
discography. (Full disclosure: I am reviewing this via MP3 – albeit
legal MP3 files from EMusic.)
Maybe the reason that this particular disc enthralls me is it
reminds me of the work Vince Guaraldi did with his trio. But this
session even pre-dates Guaraldi – and though I admittedly don’t
know enough about jazz to call Evans a pioneer in this particular
style of be-bop, he is one of the trailblazers who helped to shape
the genre at a unique time in its history. (One noticeable
difference – with all due respect to Guaraldi – is that Evans’s
playing is much cleaner.)
Working with bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Paul Motian, Evans
gives each musician room to shine and to take their instruments
into their own circles of achievement, but there is no doubt who is
the star of
New Jazz Conceptions. Throughout the 12 songs that make up
this disc (including two versions of “No Cover, No Minimum”), Evans
puts together some piano runs that, on their own, would sound
dischordant, but when blended together create some of the most
beautiful noise I’ve heard in a long time.
Evans (who died in 1980) and the remainder of the trio are able
to tackle full-force breakout jazz (“Five,” “I Love You,”
“Conception”) and ballad (“No Cover, No Minimum”, “Easy Living”)
and make all the stylistic shifts sound as effortless as walking
down a hill. (I will admit to liking the first take of “No Cover,
No Minimum” a little more – including what I perceived as Evans
throwing in a quick lick from “Mexican Hat Dance”.) The energy this
trio had, combined with their sheer musicianship, made it seem like
they would be a tough act to follow – though Evans (like a mentor
of his, Miles Davis) would make a career of putting together some
incredible groups. No surprise, then, that Davis would pick Evans
to join his Sextet a little more than a year later.
The only time that the energy seems to sag a bit is on the rare
occasion when Evans performs a piece solo. It’s not that Evans
isn’t capable of handling things on his own, but tracks like “I Got
It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)” and “Waltz For Debby” almost scream
for fleshing out with the full band. Thankfully, Evans keeps these
moments (some would call them “interludes” nowadays) under two
minutes, but it is enough to break up the energy the trio was
outputting.
Still, this is a minor quibble, and
New Jazz Conceptions remains a disc I would steer people to
who want to learn about Evans as both a musician and a bandleader.
The journey through Evans’s discography is a long one, but this is
a great first step.