Bill Evans Trio - Sunday At The Village Vanguard (1961)

Had this, one of the greatest piano trio recordings ever made, on heavy rotation these past weeks, and realised I hadn't posted it yet.  Two albums were assembled from Bill Evans Trio live recordings at NYC's Village Vanguard on 25 June 1961 - the other one was Waltz For Debby (see links list below).

Both can be slightly spooky records to listen to, with the knowledge that the 25-year old bassist was playing his final Bill Evans Trio show before a fatal car accident two weeks later.  Sunday At The Village Vanguard was thus arranged as a tribute to Scott LaFaro, bookended by two of his compositions, and highlighting his brilliant playing throughout.  As we just had Weather Report's debut album last week, here's Miroslav Vitouš describing how the 'bass as equal-stature instrument' sound of Sunday At The Village Vanguard influenced him in the setup of early Weather Report.  Bill Evans is naturally on top form throughout as a harmonic and melodic master, and Paul Motian is the backbone of this top-tier, close-knit trio.

link
pw: sgtg

Bill Evans at SGTG:
Everybody Digs Bill Evans
The Blues And The Abstract Truth
Waltz For Debby
Undercurrent
I Will Say Goodbye