Sunday At The Village Vanguard

OK -- you've made your move on the couch, Miles Davis Kind of Blue has just played out but she's just getting warmed up, so what now? You gonna say "excuse me for just a second, don't go anywhere", go put on this record, and resume the snogging.

I have always found Bill Evans to sound like "falling down" -- the sun falling down, the rain falling down, the snow falling down. What makes the Trio so transcendent is the dialogue between piano and bass with the percussion actually guiding the journey.

It's tempting to dismiss Sunday At The Village Vanguard as safe, geriatric and boring, the sort of music you would expect to hear in an upscale hotel lobby bar. But that isn't really fair--the album deserves a closer listen. In most popular (as distinguished from classical) improvisatory music, the function of the rhythm section is to lay down a groove, keep time, and provide a rhythmic and harmonic structure for the soloist to blow over. Bill Evans has had a lot of trios over the years, but this is probably the first one in which each member of the trio could and was expected to fluidly take on any role: time keeping, harmony, soloing, holding down a groove or pulse, etc. This required intense listening from all the members of the trio and is actually very difficult to do well. A close listen will reveal that the trio is communicating almost telepathically, and that the playing is exquisite, which accounts for the legendary status of this album, especially among jazz buffs. That said, if you aren't willing to put in the effort to intensively listen to this music, it will most likely come across as safe, geriatric and boring. That is why I actually prefer other recordings of the Bill Evans Trio, especially Turn Out The Stars, which was recorded shortly before Evans died. Evans pours his heart and soul into those performances with unmatched ferocity, knowing he didn't have long to live. So, how to rate Sunday At The Village Vanguard? Well, for what Evans was going for, it's pretty much perfection, an easy 5/5. However, I have to be honest--I don't really enjoy listening to it that much.

Unexpectedly easy listening, super accessible and engaging. The live format works well, love the chatter and glass clinking. Even though the band's namesake is on Piano I thought the bass was way more impressive. Has got to be the world's most undercover drummer; he's somehow always there but never there. Would definitely benefit from several more listens. All Of You is the highlight. Although lots of the stuff from this era is difficult to relate to and tempting to dismiss, this exercise has made interesting to imagine what it would've sounded like to me in the context of that time in space. Also have been dishing out lots of five stars lately.

I listened to this 8 times yesterday, and will do so again today. This is like the jazz album you wanted to discover to help you get a better understanding. Backstory is amazing, it's just incredible brass free jazz.

J'ai demandé à Robert Dimery ce que faisait cet album dans la liste des 1001 et il m'a très rapidement répondu (Robert et moi sommes très proches) qu'il voulait à la base ajouter un autre album mais a cliqué sans le faire exprès sur une playlist appelée "3 hours jazz chillax music" et l'a insérée dans les 1001. Robert est quelqu'un d'extrêmement tête en l'air.

One of the first albums I listened to when getting into jazz. Amazing brassless jazz album. Just a piano, drums and bass and it sounds great.

One of the more remarkable displays of virtuosity you're going to hear. Not from headliner and reluctant cover-boy Bill Evans, but by upright bassist Scott LaFaro. He bounds all the way across the fingerboard playing counters and solos, yet never loses sight of the melody. Evans leads incredibly well from his piano, and very selflessly. His sense of timing and dynamics on album closer (and LaFaro composed) Jade Visions brought me to tears. They clearly knew how to get the best from each other. The Stereo image on the recording is impeccable, capturing every nuance of the players and the club. If there was any downside, it's that I'm often left wanting the drums to do more, aside from the welcome solo on All of You (Take 2). Maybe it's the inner rock-child that still lives inside me, but sometimes there is such a thing as too tasteful. Today's the first time I've heard this trio and any of its member play, and I'm already crushed this was the final time they had a chance to. Scott LaFaro died in a car accident soon after. I couldn't think of any better tribute. PSA to anyone listening on Spotify: The bonus tracks have been mixed in with the originals, following straight after the preferred take. The correct track listing should be: "Gloria's Step" (take 2) – 6:09 "My Man's Gone Now" – 6:21 "Solar" – 8:52 "Alice in Wonderland" (take 2) – 8:34 "All of You" (take 2) – 8:17 "Jade Visions" (take 2) – 3:44

I have no doubt this is a quality jazz album, but sheesh I nearly fell asleep. The very long bass solo in Solar is just too much for me to handle. I can’t take it. Not enough excitement. This is the background music at a cocktail hour not a concert for which I would want to pay money.

Admittedly, I'm not a very sophisticated jazz appreciator; however, this seemed almost featureless, with only parts of "Alice In Wonderland" eliciting a knowing stroke of the chin. Harsh 2*

Les voy a ser franco y honesto: es demasiado refinado para mí. Los barriobajeros no escuchamos este tipo de obras maestras.

Absolute classic, incredible from start to finish.

A jazz album worthy of some serious superlatives. Blissful stuff from open to close. I am a sucker for Alice in Wonderland; this nearly gets 5 starts just for that track.

Music can serve as a rush or atmosphere, this is all atmosphere and it’s amazing. Excellent. The deep background conversation noise really adds something. Excellent, jumping off point

My jazz preferences sit in the seething demented and transcendental ecstatic sectors (late Coltrane goes down well), so this is just too plain nice to live long with me. But it is rather nice.

A gorgeous stroll with people who make you smile and laugh through a bustling city in winter.

Classic jazz instrumental Good for background

Just another jazz album, nothing dreadful.

Would have been nice background in a piano bar. Wasn't that great to have on whilst working.

Fine jazz, not what I would choose to listen to though.

Culture has been cruel to impressionistic music. Whether Debussy or Evans, once innovative theorising and playing has become background listening, never definite, but just an impression. When it is difficult to grasp the melody, you only get a sense of it and a sense of the harmony and a sense of the structure. Such washiness sounds like a Sunday - lounging, lazing, lacking the structure of the rest of the week. Perhaps there is nominal determinism at play here. No doubt, a keener ear, better acquainted with jazz, may hear more structure, more melody, more direction. However, for me, it is all hard to distinguish behind the gentle murmurs and clapping, not because they are undeserved, but because the balance between the artist and audience is exactly the same as between diners and café background playlist. Sunday brunchtime probably. I don't enjoy writing any of that - the drums sounds great in parts; the bassist is ; Evans is obviously an exemplary pianist - but so what. 1.5 This is nonsense. Sure it‘s not *really* nonsense but… This is a closed shop. What is the particular brilliance of Bill Evans‘ ‘touch’ as a pianist to those who don’t play piano or listen religiously to recordings of piano players? What is a key recording in the history of the development of modal jazz to those who wouldn’t know Lydian from Adam? What is a watershed moment in the democratisation of the jazz trio to those who have heard less than three of them in their whole life - and didn’t (and couldn’t) pay close attention to their music even at that. The answer is, as most of the people present (and audible!) when this recording was made clearly knew, that the only thing this music really offers most of us is something pleasant to ignore while we chat to each other and get bluttered on a Sunday afternoon. Well it’s Tuesday and I’m sober. Even worse - yesterday we had a Sam Cooke Live record from the same era and it was everything this show wasn’t - a document of music-making that was irresistibly social; not just acknowledging of an audience but dragging them into participation and responding to their energy in turn. Humans, together, instinctively grasping the inexplicable power of music. That was worth recording for posterity - this wasn’t. This was worth recording for students of Jazz. Good luck to those students. 1/5

meeh

The bones of jazz. Great to listen to as background music 🎶

Masterpiece

Really good. Not a jazz guy but the skill is there. It is also more approachable than a lot of jazz but not fading into the background.

Beautiful chemistry between these three. One of Scott La Faro's last recordings. Bill's voicings and phrasings in this performance are masterful.

sophisticated focus music, great for work

5/5 - Excellent

Nice.

Phenomenal Jazz Classic, great recording

Not much into jazz, but you listen to this, you understand what makes jazz special. Phenomenal musicianship

A stunner. Loved every second. Absolutely beautiful

SO GOOD.

Smooth, calm, relaxing

This was extremely pleasant background music for the stuff I was doing around the house. I was a little leery because sometimes I find the improv parts of jazz to be annoying, but this combination of instruments and chill sound worked well for me.

What a great album! Very soothing jazz.

Really nice find. Like a Christmas present that someone forgot to give you - total surprise. Wish this list had more of these little gems...

carai, que BAIXARIA (rá) esse aqui. o cara largano o dedo no contrabaixão memo, foda-se. bonito demais. bonita homenagem pro contrabaixista, btw. só pedrada.

i was pretty satisfied with every song on this album and liked them all however i dont think i was thrilled enough by it to call it a 5 star album but i will happily rate it a 4

I want to listen to this in front of a log fire in a comfy chair drinking good whisky with a few friends.

Nr. 143/1001 Gloria's Step Take 2 3/5 Gloria's Step Take 3 3/5 My Man's Gone Now 3/5 Solar 3/5 Alice In Wonderland Take 2 3/5 Alice In Wonderland Take 1 3/5 All Of You Take 2 3/5 All Of You Take 3 3/5 Jade Visions Take 2 3/5 Jade Visions Take 1 3/5 Average: 3,0 It's okay I guess, but not something I would ever listen to actively. Maybe as background music.

Very cool and relaxing. Alice In Wonderland does certainly capture your attention for a moment.

I realised something masterful was afoot when I noticed these dainties weren't only sighing and swaying but giggling and winking at me too.

Its elevator music, but really good elevator music. Bill Evans is obviously the focal point on piano, but the dude playing bass was on some other shit. I enjoyed this music best when I focused on the bass and let the drums and piano just kinda fade a bit into the backround. Like all jazz I definitely recommend good headphones/speakers

Live jazz is best enjoyed live.

not really my genre of music but nice nonetheless

Jazz always sounds better at The Vanguard.

Just really really good. Some of the best musicians playing their best. 5/5

SUBLIME 5 5 5 5 just beautiful

I love jazz

I am not sophisticated enough to understand why this is amaZing but I do enjoy it and like a pleb it makes me think of snoopy

Otro hermoso álbum de Bill Evans. Leí que fue lo último que grabó con el contrabajista Scott LaFaro antes de su fallecimiento, y que las grabaciones fueron elegidas por Bill Evans para mostrar los mejores momentos de LaFaro, destacando que todos los temas tienen solos interpretados por él, siendo esta una manera de honrar su recuerdo.

Bill Evans is just one of those people that feels like he should have some sort of "sold his soul to the devil" type mythos about him. it'd add some fun irreverence to what is a generally sad and bleak story to hear about. his friend said that his death in 1980 was the "longest suicide in history" -- i am praying to God my life doesn't bring me down such a dark path that my friends refer to my death as such. my god, what an album though. i'm a tad basic, so cool jazz already somewhat appeals to me as something i can approach and appreciate (especially as i listen to more jazz to compare it to) and something about Evans and the band he has assembled here makes the whole experience feel like magic. i swear, there's a "Daisy" quote here, a song that i find to be corny and dripping with gay 90s foppishness, and it somehow works. of course, i don't think anything tops the last track here, the solemnity of it contrasting all the bright and sweet feelings of the five tracks fire. if you're a musician, you can make magic anywhere, and a lot of magic was made at the Village Vanguard that night.

Production on this is great

Love this album. Great listen. Beautiful music. Well recorded.

True jazz

Masterpiece

Excellent

5 and more . I would love to rate it as 10 out of 10 if I could

So very peaceful, didn’t notice it repeat

Nice

Dypt behagelig og engasjerende å høre på. Alle tre musikerne spiller så respektfullt med hverandre. Jeg digger ideen til Evans om den demokratiske trioen. Evans styrer skipet behendig og selvsikkert med hans endeløst vakre pianospilling. Bassisten var selvfølgelig kjempeflink, og det er enormt trist at han døde i en så ung alder rett etter dette var spilt inn. Flere av soloene hans sprudlet virkelig i ørene mine. Samtidig så ble det kanskje liiiitt for mye av det gode i blant. Det samme kan ikke sies om trommisen, som limer alt i hop med presisjon og eleganse. Desidert et nydelig, grasiøst og sjarmerende album altså. Ikke noe å si på det.

Intimate recording of virtuosic prowess from all three. Love the block chords of the piano dancing over the endlessly searching double bass underpinned by the restless drums.

Wow. I LOVE this album. I wish I'd known about it earlier. Perfect classy and chill music. I will definitely have this on hand more often.

Minimal, clean, creative, and brilliant live jazz. Requires a little focused listening, but very rewarding. Evans might be my favorite pianist ever. Best song: Alice in Wonderland

Top tier jazz album.

Beautiful, elegant, timeless. All the individual performers’ work stands out so distinctly.

Un si sanno cazzi di jazze perciò noi gli si dà ccinque deh

Otro día de novedades: Bill Evans únicamente me es familiar por su nombre y tal vez por alguna que otra composición que he escuchado propiamente de él y no recuerdo (no cuento a Kind of Blue para hablar específicamente de su obra). Los vivos del jazz tiene una magia única, por el lujo que se permiten los músicos para improvisar y experimentar. Éste caso no es la excepción, sobre todo por los momentos en que luce el dúo contrabajo-batería (My Man's Gone Now y Solar son ejemplos clarísimos). Disco bestial, ideal como música de fondo que inevitablemente hace que uno se cuelgue en sus ritmos. Hasta mañana.

I wish I knew jazz enough to give a well written assessment of this work, but I am at a loss for anything that would do it justice. All I know is if it has Bill Evans, it’s going to be amazing. I’m blown away that this is a live album.

It's starting to feel like I have a jazz bias. While I do really enjoy jazz, I wouldn't consider myself a jazz connoisseur. Yet every jazz album I'm given on here is either very strong or an absolute masterpiece. This Bill Evans album, despite being a live performance (which, to me, disqualifies works as "albums" in the artistic sense) is such a work of art, I can hardly believe it. I've listened to it three times now, and it just gets better and better. The bassist, who passed away shortly after recording this, is a virtuoso. Bill's piano playing is just gorgeous. Being a massive Disney fan, I knew of him really only from his "Alice in Wonderland" cover, which appears on the Complete Sunday at Village Vanguard Sessions, and I absolutely adore it. But I really was not prepared for how good this record would be. It's an instant add to my replay collection, and I'm already looking for it on vinyl because to me there's nothing better than jazz on vinyl.

Epic

Could listen to this everyday

Bill Evans is probably my most listened-to artist for three or four years now, no matter what the algorithm says. He’s the ultimate relaxing music to me. I put him on at home on vinyl, I put him on when I’m off-desk at work (sometimes when I’m on-desk and patrons aren’t around); he’s just my immediate go-to “background music.” He instantly calms me down, and his music helped a lot when I was dealing with untreated anxiety. This dude’s music literally helped me with health issues I was having! You know I love him!

Really amazing music. Would be great as background music.

Classic

Incredible smooth jazz with a lovely recording. Puts you right at the club listening.

Very intimate and serene plus a few extra spiffing rumblytastic solo bass spots as well. It’s elegance and grace. A smile on my face. Tonight when we chase the dragon the water may change to cherry wine and the silver will turn to gold. Alice in wonderland!

An analysis of Bill Evan's music by a musicologist might reveal all sorts of esoterica, but when you just sit back and listen, it's all just as sublime as a summer breeze through a window caressing two lovers.

A band that is in tune with each other in an unbelievable way and a masterpiece in immersive recording.

Awesome jazz piano trio

pecka

great sound, like most of his work

Ахуевший джаз, всё понравилось, добавил себе

Chill

An incredible classic. Solidified his sound which has been explored relentlessly. Bill’s playing and aesthetic sensibilities inspires projects beyond just music.

As I listen to this album I picture an older chain-smoking Charlie Brown walking or slowly skating through the park by himself, just pleasantly reminiscing about the old gang and that dog whatshisname. Yeah this is my favourite kind of jazz and it's perfect here. No horns and ffs no vocals - just piano/drums/bass (Scott LaFaro who was *killing* it here, and sadly died not 2 weeks later). Killer. 9/10 5 stars.

Great album with perfect piano and bass

Ahh, Bill Evans. The Whitest Jazz Player ever? But whatever his music might have lacked in Bop, it certainly made up for in spacious melancholy. This is perfect music for late night, brooding whisky and cigarette sessions, propping yourself up at a seedy bar and remembering all of the dames who’ve broken your heart over the years. Most of Bill Evans’ stuff is perfect for that, but if I may make a specific recommendation, he did an album with Tony Bennett which is just perfection. On a side note, I listened to the extended edition of Sunday At The Village Vanguard and each time Alice In Wonderland came on, I initially thought it was I’m In The Mood For Love

Holy fuck.

the art of the piano trio doesn't get much higher than this, y'all. this one was formed by Bill Evans shortly after his brief, yet legendary stint with Miles Davis' band which produced perhaps the most popular album in the history of jazz. Scott LaFaro is on bass and Paul Motian is on drums and cymbals. I'm certainly not the first person to gripe about the fact that Bill Evans is often an unsung hero of this music! as far as I'm aware, it was Evans who introduced Davis to George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, a theoretical text from which a whole host of jazz musicians developed new means of melodic and harmonic expression, leading to the advent of modal jazz as the fifties became the sixties. despite Evans' indisputable importance to the acoustic jazz universe around this time—he worked in bands organized by Russell as early demonstrations of Russell's theories— there's hardly a word to be said about him in Ken Burns' Jazz, or many other jazz documentaries for that matter. thankfully, his legacy is very much intact among jazz cognoscenti, and he's worked his way into plenty of people's record collections in the same fashion that Johnny Cash or Beethoven find their way into mine. country music and Classical-period classical music (bad sentence) don't usually do much for me, but sometimes an artist cuts through all of your preconceived notions about genre or style and manages to hit you in a deep place all the same. Evans' interest in unique ways of structuring music, evidenced by his interest in the Lydian Chromatic Concept, is the keystone of his body of work. with the LaFaro-Motian trio, the emphasis is less on the chord-scale relationship (as it was on Kind of Blue) and more on using bebop as a vehicle for counterpoint. LaFaro is, by all accounts, the star of the show in this trio. you're unlikely to hear the double bass played this adventurously in a jazz context outside of the small number of recording dates this trio made. in most straight-ahead jazz settings, the bass grounds both the harmonic progression and rhythmic pulse; LaFaro often excels in both departments, but the most interesting moments here are when, during Evans' piano solos, he uses his instrument less as the band's anchor and more as an independent melodic voice, one which is truly in conversation with Evans and Motian rather than simply acting as their guide. it's incredibly rare to hear him "walk the dog", which I usually love to hear whenever I'm listening to jazz, and especially when I'm playing it, but I honestly think it would kill the vibe of this band if LaFaro laid down too many consecutive quarter notes! all three members of this trio operated with such extreme finesse and precision as a unit, and it's evident on every second of these performances. Evans has a delicate touch on the keyboard that's become sort of a trademark for him over the years, and his improvisational faculties are heightened here by LaFaro's presence. you can really hear them motivating each other! Motian's introspective, sensitive drumming is the glue holding everything together; he mostly plays with brushes here, and he manages to drive the bus and keep the energy of the band up while not overpowering the group dynamic. unfortunately, the Village Vanguard date that produced this album was the last time Evans and LaFaro would ever perform together. LaFaro died (at the tragically young age of 25) in a car accident just ten days later, sending Evans down a dark path which would define the rest of his performance career and parts of his personal life. what was to be a single "Live at the Vanguard" album became two, with the first-—Sunday at the Village Vanguard—being rushed to market just about three months after LaFaro's death by Riverside. although the circumstances surrounding this release, which specifically highlights tracks featuring LaFaro's soloing and appends his name to the front cover, are certainly somewhat dodgy in retrospect, it's still nice to have this as a historical document. Waltz for Debby, the second of the two, might have a slightly more well-rounded choice of tracks, but it's hard to turn down the set of performances on offer here either! although, if I really want that experience of feeling like I'm at the Vanguard in 1961, I'll usually just throw on one of the sets from the full compilation of recordings that these two albums were selected from, which came out in 2003 and is now widely available on streaming platforms. you can't go wrong with anything this trio put to tape. decent 9/10.

Excellent

Loved it

Fantastic record. I had never listened to this one all the way through, but I'm so happy this was on this list. Just a really great jazz trio. I know Bill Evans is supposed to be the focal point here but Scott LaFaro on bass is just tearing it up throughout the entire album. Fantastic playing, and super sad that he died just a few days after this was recorded. Kind of Blue is probably the best jazz record of all time but this has to be right up there in the top 5. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for this at the record shop. 5/5

Finally some good fucking food

Very cool

Probably the single most important jazz piano recording from the pre-eminent creator of modern jazz piano. Incalculably vital.

Wonderful

Loved this album. Saved it in my favorites to listen again.

Fantastic. It’s easy to write an album like this off as “boring” but man, there’s some really fantastic musicianship here.