Sunday at the Village Vanguard

1961 live album by the Bill Evans Trio

Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Live album by

the Bill Evans Trio

Released| October 1961 (1961-10)[1]
Recorded| June 25, 1961
Venue| Village Vanguard, New York City
Genre| Jazz
Length| 42:03
Label| Riverside
RLP-376
Producer| Orrin Keepnews
Bill Evans chronology
| Explorations
(1961)  | Sunday at the Village Vanguard
(1961)  | Waltz for Debby
(1962)

|
|

Sunday at the Village Vanguard is a live album by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans and his Trio consisting of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. Released in 1961, the album is routinely ranked as one of the best live jazz recordings of all time.[2][3]

## History

[edit]

Sunday at the Village Vanguard was drawn from material recorded on June 25, 1961, at the Village Vanguard in New York City. The trio played five sets—two in the afternoon and three in the evening—each one comprising four or five numbers and lasting about half an hour.[4] This was the last performance by the Bill Evans Trio with bassist Scott LaFaro, who was killed in a car accident eleven days after the recording.[5]

Riverside had been looking for only one album from this date, but LaFaro's death changed the economics. The album was subtitled "Featuring Scott LaFaro" and was rushed out for release three months after recording by September 1961.[4] Evans and producer Orrin Keepnews reportedly selected the tracks for Sunday at the Village Vanguard to best feature LaFaro's masterly performance on bass, beginning and ending with two tracks ("Gloria's Step" and "Jade Visions") written by LaFaro himself, and with all the others featuring solos by him.

This memorable day's performance resulted in additional material released in a second album in 1962, Waltz for Debby, as well as a further selection of takes appearing posthumously in 1984 as another LP: Bill Evans — More From the Vanguard (Milestone M-9125).[6]

In numerous interviews Evans has paid tribute to what he always considered to be his finest trio:

> I am thankful that we recorded that day, because it was the last time I saw Scott and the last time we would play together. When you have evolved a concept of playing which depends on the specific personalities of outstanding players, how do you start again when they are gone?[4]

After this recording at the Village Vanguard and the death of LaFaro, it became one of the extreme low periods in the life and career of Evans. He did not play for many months, not even at home.

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Down Beat
(Original LP version)| [7]
AllMusic| [5]
Penguin Guide to Jazz| [3]
All About Jazz| [8]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide| [9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [10]

Writing for AllMusic, music critic Thom Jurek wrote of the album: "This trio is still widely regarded as his finest, largely because of the symbiotic interplay between its members. This is a great place to begin with Evans."[5] C. Michael Bailey of All About Jazz wrote: "Along with bassist wunderkind Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, Evans perfected his democratic vision of trio cooperation, where all members performed with perfect empathy and telepathy... It is these performances, currently available as Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby that comprise the number one best jazz live recording in this present series."[8]

Starting in 1992, both this album and its successor Waltz for Debby have been awarded a crown in all nine editions of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings.[11][12] In 2000, it was voted number 946 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[13] In 2005, the album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

## Reissue

[edit]

In 2005, Riverside issued The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 a fully remastered three-CD box set containing virtually all the material from the entire day's recording at the Village Vanguard (one number has been lost) on that date of 25 June. While all of this music was already available on the 12-CD box-set released in 1984 Bill Evans - The Complete Riverside Recording,[14] this re-issue has had the audience ambiance enhanced and includes introductions, on-stage discussions between the musicians, interaction with the audience, and a few bars of music that Evans improvised to fill out the tape at the end of the night.

## Track listing

[edit]

Side one

1. "Gloria's Step" (take 2) (Scott LaFaro) – 6:09
2. "My Man's Gone Now" (George Gershwin) – 6:21
3. "Solar" (Miles Davis) – 8:52

Side two

1. "Alice in Wonderland" (take 2) (Sammy Fain) – 8:34
2. "All of You" (take 2) (Cole Porter) – 8:17
3. "Jade Visions" (take 2) (Scott LaFaro) – 3:44

Bonus tracks on CD

1.   2. "Gloria's Step" (take 3) – 6:54
3. "Alice in Wonderland" (take 1) – 6:59
4. "All of You" (take 3) – 8:03
5. "Jade Visions" (take 1) – 4:16

## Personnel

[edit]

* Bill Evans – piano
* Scott LaFaro – bass
* Paul Motian – drums

## Credits

[edit]

* Orrin Keepnews – Producer
* Dave Jones – Recording engineer
* Ken Deardoff – Album design
* Donald Silverstein – Album cover photograph[15]
* Steve Schapiro – Back liner photograph ("The trio, between sets, in the back room at the Vanguard")[16]
* Ira Gitler and Orrin Keepnews – Liner notes

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Billboard Oct 16, 1961
2. ^ All About Jazz: Best Live Jazz Recordings (1953-65)
3. ^ a b "Penguin Guide To Jazz: "Five Star" Recordings". Penguin Guide to Jazz. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
4. ^ a b c Peter Pettinger, Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, (1998): p.109-114, ISBN 978-0-300-09727-6)
5. ^ a b c Jurek, Thom. Bill Evans Trio: Sunday at the Village Vanguard – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
6. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Bill Evans More From The Vanguard". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
7. ^ Down Beat: March 1, 1962 vol. 29, no. 5
8. ^ a b Bailey, C. Michael (November 1, 2005). "Bill Evans Trio: Sunday At The Village Vanguard & Waltz For Debby". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
9. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 74\. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
10. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
11. ^ Cook, Richard, and Morton, Brian, editors. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. London, Penguin Books Ltd., 2008, ninth edition, p. 456.
12. ^ Tom Hull Penguin Guide jazz crown list retrieved 26 June 2021.
13. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 287\. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
14. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Bill Evans The Complete Riverside Recordings". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
15. ^ John Kennerdell (January 10, 2016). "When Jazz Met Photography Met Design". Retrieved November 13, 2021.
16. ^ "Bill Evans Trio: Sunday at the Village Vanguard". songbook1.wordpress.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Bill Evans entry at the Jazz Discography Project

* v
* t
* e

Bill Evans

Discography

Studio
albums|

* New Jazz Conceptions
* Tenderly: An Informal Session
* Everybody Digs Bill Evans
* On Green Dolphin Street
* The Ivory Hunters
* Portrait in Jazz
* Know What I Mean?
* Explorations
* Nirvana
* Undercurrent
* Moon Beams
* How My Heart Sings!
* Interplay
* Empathy
* Loose Blues
* The Solo Sessions, Vol. 1
* The Solo Sessions, Vol. 2
* The Gary McFarland Orchestra
* Conversations With Myself
* Plays the Theme from The V.I.P.s and Other Great Songs
* Trio 64
* Stan Getz & Bill Evans
* Waltz for Debby
* Trio '65
* Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra
* Intermodulation
* A Simple Matter of Conviction
* Further Conversations with Myself
* Alone
* What's New
* From Left to Right
* Quiet Now
* The Bill Evans Album
* Living Time
* Eloquence
* Symbiosis
* Intuition
* The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
* Alone (Again)
* Quintessence
* Together Again
* Crosscurrents
* I Will Say Goodbye
* You Must Believe in Spring
* New Conversations
* Affinity
* We Will Meet Again

Live
albums|

* Sunday at the Village Vanguard
* Waltz for Debby
* Time Remembered
* At Shelly's Manne-Hole
* Bill Evans at Town Hall
* The Bill Evans Trio "Live"
* California Here I Come
* Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival
* Jazzhouse
* You're Gonna Hear from Me
* Montreux II
* The Tokyo Concert
* Half Moon Bay
* Since We Met
* Re: Person I Knew
* But Beautiful
* Blue in Green: The Concert in Canada
* Montreux III
* Getting Sentimental
* Live in Buenos Aires 1979
* Homecoming
* The Paris Concert: Edition One
* The Paris Concert: Edition Two
* Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings
* Letter to Evan
* Turn Out the Stars
* The Last Waltz: The Final Recordings
* Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2

Compilation
albums|

* Piano Player

Compositions|

* "Waltz for Debby"
* "Funkallero"
* "Blue in Green"
* "Flamenco Sketches"
* "Time Remembered"
* "Peace Piece"

Band
members|

* Monty Budwig
* Larry Bunker
* Jack DeJohnette
* Eddie Gómez
* Chuck Israels
* Marc Johnson
* Philly Joe Jones
* Sam Jones
* Teddy Kotick
* Joe LaBarbera
* Scott LaFaro
* Michael Moore
* Marty Morell
* Paul Motian
* Gary Peacock

Associated
musicians|

* Cannonball Adderley
* Chet Baker
* Tony Bennett
* Bob Brookmeyer
* Kenny Burrell
* Ron Carter
* Miles Davis
* Stan Getz
* Jim Hall
* Freddie Hubbard
* Lee Konitz
* Harold Land
* Shelly Manne
* Warne Marsh
* Claus Ogerman
* George Russell
* Zoot Sims
* Toots Thielemans
* Monica Zetterlund

Related
articles|

* Tribute albums

* v
* t
* e

Paul Motian

Albums|

* Conception Vessel (1972)
* Tribute (1974)
* Dance (1977)
* Le Voyage (1979)
* Psalm (1981)
* The Story of Maryam (1983)
* It Should've Happened a Long Time Ago (1984)
* Jack of Clubs (1984)
* Misterioso (1986)
* One Time Out (1987)
* Monk in Motian (1988)
* On Broadway Volume 1 (1988)
* On Broadway Volume 2 (1989)
* Bill Evans (1990)
* Motian in Tokyo (1991)
* On Broadway Volume 3 (1991)
* Paul Motian and the Electric Bebop Band (1992)
* Trioism (1993)
* Reincarnation of a Love Bird (1994)
* At the Village Vanguard (1995)
* Sound of Love (1995)
* Flight of the Blue Jay (1996)
* Trio 2000 + One (1997)
* Play Monk and Powell (1998)
* Europe (2000)
* Holiday for Strings (2001)
* Garden of Eden (2004)
* I Have the Room Above Her (2004)
* On Broadway Vol. 4 or The Paradox of Continuity (2005)
* Live at the Village Vanguard (2006)
* Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. II (2006)
* Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. III (2006)
* Time and Time Again (2006)
* On Broadway Volume 5 (2008)
* Lost in a Dream (2009)
* The Windmills of Your Mind (2010)

Tethered
Moon|

(Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian and Gary Peacock)

* First Meeting (1990–91)
* Tethered Moon Play Kurt Weill (1994)
* Chansons d'Édith Piaf (1999)
* Experiencing Tosca (2002)

Trio|

(Geri Allen, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian)

* Etudes (1987)
* In the Year of the Dragon (1989)
* Segments (1989)
* The Montreal Tapes: with Geri Allen and Paul Motian (Haden, 1989)
* Live at the Village Vanguard (1990)

Discography

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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