Bill Evans Trio: Sunday at the Village Vanguard

An absolute 'must-have' for every jazz bassist. Scott LaFaro and Bill Evans evolved a unique style of conversational, group improvisational style of playing straight ahead jazz that is constantly emulated but rarely duplicated. Phil Palombi has painstakingly transcribed all of Scotty's solos from this album and is available from Upton or directly from Phil himself. This CD along with the "Waltz for Debby" and "The Birdland Sessions" constitute all of Scotty's output with Bill. But these three CDs will provide the listener with months, years, perhaps decades of enjoyment and education in assimilating this all important jazz style. Most of the time it's not 'what' Scott plays but the 'way' he plays it, developing an independent, melodic, exploratory voice in concert with Bill's relaxed, lush voicing, and thoughtful rendering with plenty of space for Scotty's searching melodies, all while remaining true to the song's chord structure and form. For bass players it rarely gets any better than this. Win Hinkle, bassist and editor of "Letter From Evans."