This Event has Passed
Larry McDonough Trio Performing and Recording June 25, 1961 - The Bill Evans Trio
“Sunday at the Village Vanguard” and “Waltz for Debby” were the last recordings of this version of the Bill Evans Trio, as LaFaro died in a car accident just ten days after the live date at the Village Vanguard. The trio revolutionized jazz, with each member improvising at the same time while performing recognizable pieces.
Sample of the Larry McDonough Trio performing the Bill Evans Trio
http://larrymcdonoughjazz.homestead.com/files/June251961/June_25__1961_-_Sample.mp3
The Larry McDonough Trio also will perform music from the CD "Kind of Bill on the Palace Grounds - Marking 40 Years since the Death of Bill Evans," a live recording covering the career of Bill Evans. Jazz curator Steve Kenny has called pianist Larry McDonough the Bill Evans scholar of Minnesota. "The quartet does more than replay the songbook. They relive it, reinterpret it for a new generation of jazz listeners, making then into now." - Eric Hanson, Author, Artist, and Jazz Historian.
Kind of Bill on the Palace Grounds, Marking 40 Years since the Death of Bill Evans
http://larrymcdonoughjazz.homestead.com/KindofBillonthePalaceGrounds-CD.html
♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬
Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Thom Jurek wrote of Sunday at the Village Vanguard: “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.” 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." Sunday at The Village Vanguard was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Waltz for Debby was voted number 465 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).
♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬ ♪ ♬
Larry McDonough and Bill Evans
Bill Evans was born William John Evans on August 16, 1929, and was one of the most influential jazz pianists in history. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, complex rhythms, and simultaneous improvisation of group members redefined groups, composition, and jazz pianists. He performed on the Miles Davis album “Kind of Blue” in 1959, the best-selling jazz album ever. His trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian introduced simultaneous improvisation and is regarded as a seminal modern jazz trio. In 1963, Evans recorded Conversations with Myself, a solo album produced with over-dubbing technology allowing him to perform with himself. He later collaborated with the singer Tony Bennett on two critically acclaimed albums: The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (1975) and Together Again (1977). His last trio included bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. Evans died on September 15, 1980 at age 51 in New York City. He received 31 Grammy nominations and seven awards, and was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Evans
Larry grew up listening and transcribing Evans’ music, having seen his live performances in the 1970s. His shows and recordings feature the music of Evans. Larry has become friends with Evans’ widow Nenette, who supports Larry’s projects and provides him with some of Bill Evans’ manuscripts. Larry is the only Minnesotan invited to study the Bill Evans Archive at the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies of Southeastern Louisiana University. Movie director Bruce Spiegel chose Larry to host Minnesota showings of his documentary film “Bill Evans Time Remembered.” Jazz curator Steve Kenny has called Larry the Bill Evans scholar of Minnesota.
Nenette Evans said: “The Evans family is so grateful that Larry McDonough has chosen to remember my late husband Bill Evans. I like what Max Gordon said about Bill Evans in his book concerning his experiences as owner of the famed Village Vanguard club, where Bill eventually became a regular: ‘The first time Bill Evans played the Village Vanguard, he was the intermission pianist for the Modern Jazz Quartet. The room was quiet when they played. When Bill Evans played the MJQ fans wondered, ‘Who the hell was that?' They'd never heard of him. He was filling space in between for the star attraction. Today Bill is the star attraction. When Bill Evans plays, the Village Vanguard becomes Town Hall.’”
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2895874-0
