The Bill Evans Album

1971 studio album by Bill Evans

The Bill Evans Album

Studio album by

Bill Evans

Released| End of August/early September 1971[1]
Recorded| May 11–12, 17, 19–20 and June 9, 1971[2]
Studio| CBS 30th Street Studio, New York City
Genre| Jazz
Length| 70:27
Label| Columbia
C 30855
Producer| Helen Keane
Bill Evans chronology
| From Left to Right
(1970)  | The Bill Evans Album
(1971)  | Living Time
(1972)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic|  link
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide| [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings| [4]

The Bill Evans Album is a recording by the jazz pianist Bill Evans, released in 1971 on the Columbia label. It was his first album to feature all compositions written (or co-written), arranged, and performed by him. On the record, Evans plays both an acoustic and a Fender Rhodes electric piano.

Of the album's seven compositions, four were new for this project: "The Two Lonely People," "Sugar Plum," "T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune)," and "Comrade Conrad."[5] Of these, "The Two Lonely People" would become a regular part of the pianist's performing repertoire and was recorded many times.[6] "T.T.T." is a tone row composition, employing the serial technique of composer Arnold Schoenberg; however, Evans "clothe[d] the line with diatonic harmony" and believed that twelve-tone music "was incompatible with the art of improvising."[7]

The title of the song "Re: Person I Knew" (recorded first on his 1962 Moon Beams album) is an anagram of the name of Evans's longtime producer, Orrin Keepnews.[8] The lineup of Evans originals is rounded out by two of his best-known compositions, "Funkallero," which although previously recorded by the pianist on several occasions was first released here,[9] and "Waltz for Debby."

A recording of Evans's composition "Fun Ride" was also made during these sessions and later collected on the compilation Piano Player (1998).[10]

The Bill Evans Album was reissued, with three bonus alternative tracks, by Sony in 2005.

The cover image is based on a photograph taken by music photographer Don Hunstein.

## Reception

[edit]

At the Grammy Awards of 1972, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo and the Best Jazz Performance by a Group awards.

AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow gave the album 4 stars, writing, "Although not as distinctive on the electric keyboard as he was on its acoustic counterpart, Evans sounds inspired by its possibilities and is heard in top creative form throughout the date."

Evans biographer Peter Pettinger wrote that the album "was an enterprise of diligence and serious intent, though the musicians were still enjoying themselves, as the frequent foot-tapping testifies; tempi were held steady and the material was challenging to players and listeners alike."[11]

## Track listing

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All songs by Bill Evans except where noted.

1. "Funkallero" (album version) – 7:45
2. "The Two Lonely People" (Bill Evans, Carol Hall) – 6:10
3. "Sugar Plum" (album version) – 7:02
4. "Waltz for Debby" (Evans, Gene Lees) – 7:41
5. "T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune)" – 6:38
6. "Re: Person I Knew" – 5:52
7. "Comrade Conrad" (album version) – 7:34

2005 reissue bonus tracks:
8. "Waltz for Debby" [alternate take] (Evans, Gene Lees) – 7:47
9. "Re: Person I Knew" [alternate take] – 7:16
10. "Funkallero" [alternate take] – 6:09

## Personnel

[edit]

* Bill Evans – piano, Fender Rhodes
* Eddie Gómez – bass
* Marty Morell – drums

Production

* Helen Keane – producer
* Peter Weiss – engineer, mixing
* Orrin Keepnews – reissue producer
* Mark Wilder – remastering
* John Berg – art direction
* Fred Binkley – liner notes
* Don Hunstein – photography
* Seth Rothstein – project director
* Paula Wood – art direction, design

## Charts

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Year  | Chart  | Position

|
|

1971  | Billboard Jazz Albums  | 14

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Billboard Aug 21, 1971
2. ^ https://www.jazzdisco.org/bill-evans/catalog/ [bare URL]
3. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 73\. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
4. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 457\. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
5. ^ Pettinger, Peter, Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings, Yale University Press (1998), pp. 204-5.
6. ^ "Bill Evans Discography," https://www.jazzdisco.org/bill-evans/discography/, JAZZDISCO.org, Accessed 7 June 2024.
7. ^ Pettinger, p. 205.
8. ^ Original issue liner notes by Fred Binkley, 1971.
9. ^ "Bill Evans Discography."
10. ^ Keepnews, Orrin, liner notes, Piano Player, Columbia/Legacy CK 65361 (1998), p. 10.
11. ^ Pettinger, p. 205.

* 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

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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