Bill Evans: Treasures: Solo, Trio and Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969)
Elemental Music

Zev Feldman, who midwifed this latest addition to Elemental Music's ongoing series of Bill Evans' material into being, writes of Treasures: Solo, Trio and Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969), “It's a time for Evans fans to rejoice.” Truer words were never spoken, as the set's previously unreleased recordings feature the pianist in stellar form and, even better, in multiple contexts. For aficionados of his solo playing, there are six pieces; for trio lovers, the release pairs him with bassists Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Eddie Gomez and drummers Alan Dawson, Alex Riel, and Marty Morell; and, most strikingly, the release features Evans, Gomez, and Morell performing an orchestral suite arranged and conducted by trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg with the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra and the Danish Radio Big Band. As Evans releases go, Treasures, issued in digital, double-CD, and triple-vinyl formats, is essential listening.

It arrives two years after Elemental's previous Evans set, Behind the Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings, and is the tenth collection of hitherto unheard music by the pianist authorized by the Bill Evans Estate and produced by Feldman. In his own contribution to the release booklet, Evans scholar Marc Mayers makes mention of Elemental's forthcoming Tales: Live in Copenhagen (1964), featuring Chuck Israels on bass and Larry Bunker on drums. Translation: Treasures won't be the final set of unreleased Evans material to see the light of day.

There's much to recommend Treasures, including presentation and production. Like the preceding Evans sets, this one comes with a terrific booklet containing articles plus recent interviews with Gomez, Morell, Riel, and Mikkelborg and appreciations by Matthew Shipp and Ran Blake. The interview with Gomez, conducted in 2021, is particularly illuminating. Whereas the bassist admits to feelings of uncertainty and insecurity during his early tenure with Evans, Gomez's playing is anything but tentative; if anything, he executes with authority and solos with ferocity (see “Stella By Starlight” and “Autumn Leaves”). No mention of the booklet would be complete without mentioning the splendid colour photos taken by Jan Persson during the Danish tours. Often unearthed recordings are marred by mediocre sound quality; not here: as these recordings, pulled from the private archives of Norwegian jazz musician Ole Matthiessen, were originally broadcast on Danish radio, production values are high, so much so it seems a shame a half-century has passed since their original presentation. That all of the material has been made available in recorded form for the first time makes Treasures all the more valuable.

Highlights? Almost too many to mention, but here are some: Evans' exquisite pianisms, obviously; the seemingly effortless rapport he created with the various trio members; delightfully swinging run-throughs of “Very Early,” “Waltz For Debby,” “Nardis,” and “In a Sentimental Mood”; solo performances of “Re: Person I Knew,” “‘Round Midnight,” and “My Funny Valentine” that are intimate, introspective, and probing. If ever a non-Evans tune could be mistaken for one by him, it's “Emily” (Mandel-Mercer) for how perfectly its sensibility dovetails with the pianist's.

Mikkelborg, also known for his role as composer, arranger, and producer of Miles's 1989 opus Aura, was thrilled to become involved in the television project. Rising to the challenge, he created charts that effectively integrate the members of the trio, orchestra, and big band into a fluidly operating and mobile unit. Not only did he conduct and arrange the orchestral suite, he contributed the composition “Treasures” to the set-list and adds muted trumpet to it too. His moody “Intro” neatly morphs into “Waltz for Debby,” the orchestral statement of its theme the cue for the pianist's own unaccompanied voicing. While the orchestral intro to Evans' “My Bells” is a thing of beauty and elicits from the trio a radiant response, the treatment of the pianist's “Walkin' Up” shows the collective could swing with conviction too.

May 2023