A Terrible Album
Carl W. Sundstrom | San Diego, CA | 08/04/2007
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Even though there was a disclaimer (in small print) on the back of this CD advising that the recording was done by amateur equipment, LoneHill stated that they felt the historical value of the recording made it worth producing. Bull! This CD was so bad that I could not listen to all of it. At times I thought I was listening to a kazoo when it was actually Bill Evans playing the piano. The background noise sounded like someone rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together. It was like listening to fingernails scraping on a blackboard (for those of you who know what a blackboard is). Do NOT waste your money on this CD and be wary of others by this Spanish company, LoneHill. Fortunately, I had purchased it through Amazon, and even though I had opened the packaging to play it, they graciously refunded my money."
A Wonderful Concert In Slightly Less Than Ideal Sound.
Lightnin' Popkins | Minnesota | 08/15/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"WOW!!! The previous reviewer really hated this CD. I'm here to assure you that the CD is nowhere near as terrible as the reviewer would have you believe. In fact, the performance by Evans is as sensitive, introspective, and searching as any from this era. The sidemen, though relatively obscure to Americans, both do a fine, unobtrusive job in support of the pianist. It's always interesting to see how Evans responds to unfamiliar rhythm sections.
The real "problem" with this recording is purely technical. The concert was recorded from a radio broadcast using amateur equipment. As amateur jazz recordings go, the sound is actually well above average. The piano is clear and relatively undistorted. The bass and drums are very listenable as well, although they sometimes get buried in the mix. At no point does Bill's piano sound even vaguely like a kazoo, and the bass/drums sound is remarkably un-sandpaper-like (see previous review.)
It's quite a pleasant listen, although it is certainly not state of the art hi-fi.
Compared with most of the countless important amateur recordings and airshots by Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Bud Powell and Art Tatum, this Evans set has pristine sound. It's definitely not an exhausting listening experience as with, say, the Dean Benedetti Bird recordings. The many rewards of the music itself far outweigh any technical audio shortcomings.
While it's probably not the best choice for the Bill Evans neophyte, more experienced listeners will greatly enjoy this CD. It would be a shame for Evans fans to miss out on this beautiful music just because the fidelity is a notch below ideal. The sound is really not that bad. Honest!"
Half and Half
L. G. Wienecke | Granbury, Texas | 03/09/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The first six tracks are listenable, but the last tracks are not. I have deleted those tracks from my collection of Evans, which is nearly everything he recorded. That said, one would be well advised to select nearly anything else from his catalog in preference to this album, especially his earliest on Riverside and his last on Warner and Milestone."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1