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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Just another jazz album, nothing dreadful.

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.

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

meeh

Left me brassless

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

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

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*

Still convinced nobody actually likes jazz

What a great record. The playing is top notch. You can be floored by this group or you can put it on as background music. That is not an easy accomplishment. I'll keep this one in rotation for killer laid back jazz. Really glad to have heard this

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.

Pretty generic jazz. Sounds like it’s 100% improvised and there are no real motifs or tonal home to latch onto.

Live jazz is best enjoyed live.

Classic jazz instrumental Good for background

The style of Jazz that I just don't see the point of. Elevator music.

I’m sorry but I cannot listen to this. I would rate this negative stars if I could.

Kann den Vorwurf der Fahrstuhl-Musik schon irgendwie verstehen, aber es klingt schon wirklich richtig gut, ohne dass da jetzt signifikante Melodien o. Ä. hervorstechen. Aber ich höre mir sowas wirklich gerne an, mir gefällt hier jeder Song und ich kann mir auch gut vorstellen, dass mal im Hintergrund laufen zu lassen, wenn Besuch da ist. Und mir gefällt, dass der Bass in vielen Songs so im Vordergrund steht (er ist wohl ein paar Wochen nach der Aufnahme verstorben, sodass sie extra Takes ausgewählt haben, wo er prominent vertreten ist). Ist einfach ein rundes Ding.

Superb!

THIS ALBUM IS GOATED 10/10

Nice background music. I don't think I have ever heard of Bill Evan's, this is one that I will throw on for a dinner party or to just have something on. A nice collection of Jazz. Talented!

I love this album -- an amazing trio giving all three guys room to show how accomplished they were. So sad that the bassist died 11 days later in a car accident.

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.

#118/1001 🇺🇸🎹 I enjoyed this very much, the simple combination of piano, bass and drums seems to work for me in the jazz format. The double bass playing really stood out to me here, so it was a bit of a gut punch to read that the bass player Scott La Faro died just days after this was recorded. What really works for me is that it sounds real, its obviously a live recording and you can close your eyes and feel like you are in the room. Best Tracks: My Mans Gone Now, Solar, Jade Visions.

A warning: this is a tiny bit disconcerting to listen to through headphones because the live recording has such high fidelity that I kept thinking someone was behind me because of sounds of quiet voices, glasses clinking, and footsteps. I found it much more enjoyable to play through speakers.

Preeeeetty great! Some albums are better when you keep all your attention on them, this one is incredible in the background in my opinion. Really makes me wanna sit back, relax and sip a cocktail. The kinda jazz that relies on three musicians each knowing and having ultimate trust in each other and collaborating to just make it all work. I will say it eventually felt like it was wearing out its welcome for me in the end, and some sections felt like they stuck to the straight and narrow a little too long versus more experimental Jazz pieces, but these are quibbles against the entire piece.

Enjoyed this.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard Lovely stuff. While I’ve enjoyed a lot of the horn led Jazz recently, this piano trio sort of thing is what I thought I might like when we started the list, and so it is. There are a few taking the bassline for a walk and keeping the cymbals splashy moments, but whereas previously they would have chafed, now I find them increasingly pleasant, and the interplay between the three instruments really is quite incredible, the lead swapping between bass and piano, and some excellent drumming peeking out from between the gaps. It may not be as frenzied or as experimental as some other albums we’ve had, it also steers clear of the hotel lobby jazz inflection we sometimes get. To my ears there’s an unpretentious (for Jazz) sensibility to it, there’s plenty of skill and virtuosity of course, but in a tasteful and thoughtful way. The piano of My Man’s Gone Now winds its way through the song beautifully and expressively and it is a superb piece of music. Solar is a nice counterpoint, uptempo and more overtly jazzy but with some incredible piano runs and superb bass. Jade Visions is lovely too, a lovely, melancholic mellowness to it, especially as it was written by the bassist, who died shortly after this was recorded. I liked this from the off and it got better with each listen, and similar to some of the dance albums like Leftfield or Orbital it works both in the background and as a more immersive listen, picking out little bass and piano runs and getting lost in the feel of it. I think it's a high 4, as there is a little bit of uniformity of sound and style at the start of side 2, but it’s something I’m looking forward to coming back to, to fill a laid back jazz hole that Bitches Brew doesn’t. Nice. 🎹🎹🎹🎹 Playlist submission: My Man’s Gone Now

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

Standard jazz noodling that gets you nowhere.

I enjoy the sound of these instruments but musicwise I need a bit more of an actual song. Some motifs that they riff on a recognisable tune they are playing around. But this collection just felt like a bunch of long jams with no sensible grounding. It was strange to listen to an album, described as one of the best live jazz albums and just hear the audience talking over it. Jazz people are weird. It's just not for me, but it didn't leave me upset or anything.

Don't like jazz

I don’t like jazz.

NO MORE FUCKING JAZZ!!!!

I don’t think any album will make me like jazz. Most of the bass sections are very messy. I didn’t care for it at all. Like I’ve stated before, jazz is just waiting music.

No

not really my genre of music but nice nonetheless

Evans has a beautifully light touch on the Piano - wonderfully understated. LaFaro's bass is incredible here too. I understand that the label rushed out this release containing the most bass-forward tracks from the session after his death; tragic loss for jazz, but really made this album something special.

What a nice time.

One of the greatest Jazz albums of all time hell yeah

Great piano jazz

its so fucking good i fucking Love jazz. i almost gave it a four but i think it's a five + getting added to my playlists bc ill definitely be relistening to this I FUCKING LOVE JAZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overall: 4.75 (rounded to 5) Consistency: 5 Originality: 4 Enjoyment: 5 Virtuosity: 5 1. Gloria's Step (Take 2) - 5 2. My Man's Gone Now - 5 3. Solar - 5 4. Alice in Wonderland (Take 2) - 5 5. All of You (Take 2) - 5 6. Jade Visions (Take 2) - 5

This is an album that really creates a vibe. Listening with headphones, I felt like I was in the room with the band. But their musicianship is so good and the recording is so immersive that I forgot I was listening to a live recording until I noticed the crowd chatter several tracks in. There’s not a dull note in this 68 minutes of sound.

Imagine being in that audience, jabbing away and not knowing you were bearing witness to one of the greatest live jazz albums of all time…. Bliss…..

The list would be inordinately better if they traded out a Bill Evans album for each of the so-so albums meted out by minor musicians. The fact that there is only one on this list is a serious crime. This isn’t even his best album but definitely a 5 compared to the body of others on the list.

Gloria's Step - 9/10. Awesome piece of music. My Man's Gone Now - 9/10. Slick jazz. This is totally my jam. Solar - 9/10. That bass. Seriously, that bass. Alice in Wonderland - 9/10. Loving this smooth, cool jazz. All of You - 10/10. Scott La Faro on the bass here made my jaw drop. Perfection. Jade Visions - 9/10. Simple, smooth, and excellent. Overall Rating - 4.58/5 (9.17/10). Not a lot to say other than this is about as good as Jazz Trios get.

Pure cinema

hermoso

This album is in rarefied air, an improvisational jazz album that I find listenable. And this one is more than that, it is downright enjoyable.

An album beset by ensuing tragedy in the death of highly virtuosic Double Bassist Scott Lafaro, it endures as one of the finest live jazz recordings and evidence that the 60s did not just begin with The Beatles. Evans retreated for a while after Lafaro's death in a car crash and it may also have precipitated Evans's own descent into drugs as the decade progressed. Nevertheless this is a master at work in one of the great trios. Everybody should dig him!

Me gustó

Another one of those albums that I’ve listened to hundreds of times but still manage to reveal new things. One of the great albums from the era of jazz that I most respond to. Works in the background or as a dedicated listen.

Fabulous

Beautiful. Makes me want to listen to jazz even more. Bass player is a bad man. Wish I could’ve been in that club to see it live. Will listen again and again.

470/1089 - Bill Evans is my favorite piano player of all time, such sublime beauty and genius. He bridged the music of impressionist classical music with jazz incorporating these Debussy and Ravel chords and his sense of rhythm is incredible. Bill Evans is one of the few jazz players that plays ahead of the beat and makes it sound "right." Efficient too, and I haven't forgotten about Scott La Faro or Paul Motian! Not a wasted note from any member of the band. This is an interesting record where everyone is the "leader" and contributes to the songs. If you liked this, or if you didn't but still decide you want to give it a fair shake, I recommend the albums "Explorations" and "Portrait in Jazz" which also explore this concept of "every member a leader."

4/30/26. Awesome jazz here. Top tier piano playing and bass playing, plus cool arrangements. You forget that it’s live album at times.

Always a pleasure

Beautiful.

Very cool. Very mellow. Cool cool jazz.

This recording is simply amazing. I wouldn't call it understated, but it definitely focuses on the melody. The piano is other worldly with Evans playing amazing piano melodies for the trio to flex over. LaFaro uses the bass like a lead instrument and his solos are superb, to say the least. He shifts seamlessly between rhythm and lead parts while holding down the melody. I can see why this is widely hailed as one of the greatest live recordings of jazz.

If you get only one thing out of this album, it's that Scott LaFaro invented an entirely new conception of the bass. But why stop at one? Evans's lyricism, Motian's subtle swing, a handful of gorgeous compositions, the quiet appreciation of the audience. I've been in that basement room a bunch of times and was fortunate enough to see Paul Motian there. It is intimate and magical. If you find yourself in Manhattan on an evening, go down the steps to nirvana.

LETS FUCKING GO. needed some jazz. the drummer in my band loves bill evans, so i’m pretty excited. pretty sure this is the first album i’ve gotten with a bass solo. i liked this a lot. i’ll have to revisit this pretty often. it’s a nice world to get lost in.

One of my favorites of all time!

It hit me as a fresh discovery: warm, spontaneous, and so locked‑in that it instantly earned a spot in my jazz rotation

Fantastic, beautiful jazz

Love some good workin jazz

I've never been a massive fan of jazz. I think this is the best jazz album ive ever listened to.