Evolution Of A Trio 1971-1979

During the last decade of his life, interest picked up in filming pianist Bill Evans; this DVD collects portions of three different concerts videotaped between 1971 and 1979. The first three tracks are the best, featuring his trio with virtuoso bassist Eddie Gómez and drummer Marty Morell, playing Earl Zindars' lyrical waltz "How My Heart Sings," Scott LaFaro's "Gloria's Step" (a brilliant feature for Gómez), and an extended treatment of "My Romance." The remaining five tracks are from 1979, with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe La Barbera. Although "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Peacocks" are outstanding performances, they were taken from the pair of videos taped in Iowa for public television and issued as two hourlong sets on VHS by Rhapsody. The last three selections come from a Spanish television broadcast, with rather grainy video quality and muddy sound (particularly the bass), while portions of the screen are blocked out, evidently to remove network labels. Evans' tense, busy romp through "Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)" suffers from very muddy audio, as if the source tape were dubbed many times before appearing on DVD. Even with these reservations, this fascinating compilation will be of interest to Bill Evans' devoted fans, as it is likely impossible to obtain all of the music elsewhere. ~ Ken Dryden|