Bill Evans: Live at Art D’Lugoff’s

Earlier this year Resonance released a previously unheard collection by Wes Montgomery, which this reviewer noted might be the “rediscovered” jazz record of the year. This new Bill Evans release may provide the strongest competition. Live at Art D’Lugoff ’s Top of The Gate is even more lavishly packaged than its predecessor and has the clear edge in sound quality. In fact it’s possibly the best of the many live recordings the iconic pianist made, captured by George Klabin, an engineer and director of jazz programming at WKCR radio. That was late 1968, when Evans was breaking in a new trio with Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums. Klabin’s close miking gives us great presence; I can’t think of another record where one hears the interplay between Evans and the long-serving Gomez so clearly, and while we might wish for more than one original tune, jazz, as the pianist said, is a “how,” not a “what,” and he was among the greatest interpreters of standards in the music’s history. Available as a deluxe, 2-CD set or three 45rpm 180-gram LPs. State-of-the-art production, timeless music.