Friday, 14 December 2018

Bill Evans & Jim Hall - Undercurrent (1962)

Simply one of the greatest and loveliest jazz duo albums of all time.  Some would say that sentence doesn't even need the "duo".  Either way, six great tracks from two absolute masters of jazz piano and jazz guitar are here to enrich your weekend.  After a cooking take on My Funny Valentine opens the album, the overriding pace is relaxed and intimate, and the interaction between pianist and guitarist is effortlessly sublime throughout.

What would my absolute favourites be... I Hear A Rhapsody? Skating In Central Park?  Just going to go for 'all of them' as it's impossible to pick.  Was going to snip out the bonus tracks as I generally tend to do, then decided against it as they enrich the album even further (as well as almost doubling its slight running time).  Essential listening, especially for rainy days and long nights - plenty of those round here now.

link
pw: sgtg
Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

8 comments:

  1. GRK.15 December 2018 at 09:17

    Aw, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Siphonophoros15 December 2018 at 23:52

    I've always wondered what the story was around that album cover.. how is it connected to the music? Or the musicians? It is a strong image.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16 December 2018 at 00:14

      From Wikipedia: The front cover image for Undercurrent is Toni Frissell's [there's a Wiki page for her] photograph "Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida" [there's a Wiki page for the orig photo as well]. The album was originally released on United Artists, then reissued by Solid State in 1968. More recently, the album was reissued on EMI/Blue Note (in fact, both Blue Note and United Artists Records have been owned for a long time by EMI). The original LP and the first CD reissue featured a cropped, blue-tinted version, overlaid with the title and the Blue Note logo in white; but for the most recent (24-bit remastered) CD reissue, the image has been restored to its original black-and-white coloration and size, without lettering.

      Hope this helps!
      Tony ^v^

      Delete
    2. Alan Burns16 December 2018 at 10:42

      It is indeed a great photograph by Toni Frissell, taken in 1947 at that nature reserve in Florida. When I first looked it up, it definitely changed my view of the image - relief, I suppose, that it's someone just enjoying a vacation rather than trying to drown herself!

      That blue-tinted version on some LPs and early CDs did it no favours at all, glad it ended up being restored to its full glory.

      Delete
  3. Fernfrequency16 December 2018 at 22:28

    For a jazz record I love the really disturbing cover! It sets itself apart from the happy go lucky album covers of yore and really embeds its psychotic like melancholy into your curiosity trigger. Thanks again for such lovely music. Looking fwd to enjoying Mr. Bill and Mr. Jim go at it in the studio.

    ReplyDelete
  4. softshoebanana20 December 2018 at 22:05

    after your write up.....i'm really looking forward to hearing this.
    Thanks Alan

    ReplyDelete
  5. copacetic474 November 2022 at 11:50

    A new one to me. Thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous3 September 2025 at 04:13

    So very, very glad to find this amazing album still available for listening.
    Thank-you!
    dugg

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)