Released in 1964 on Verve, The Individualism of Gil Evans stands as one of arranger-composer Gil Evans' most compelling works, showcasing some of the finest music of his career. The album blends Evans' originals and Miles Davis collaborations with inspired interpretations, all rendered through his distinctive big band lens. A core group of musicians, including Johnny Coles, Steve Lacy, Jimmy Cleveland, Tony Studd, Bill Barber, Elvin Jones, and Paul Chambers, lend a remarkable consistency of texture and mood. Evans himself plays piano throughout, his touch especially poignant on "The Barbara Song," where a sense of deep pathos is underscored by Shorter's expressive tenor. From the brooding atmosphere of "Time of the Barracudas" to the one-chord intensity of "El Toreador," the album highlights Evans' mastery of tone, space, and orchestral nuance. The Verve Vault series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Acoustic Sounds Series reissue. Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound From Original Analog Tapes. A classic big-band album and one of the first-ever releases on the Impulse! Label, this 1961 recording features a superb line-up including Jimmy Knepper on trombone, Ron Carter on bass and a fiery Elvin Jones on drums. Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.

Undercurrent is a 1962 album by jazz pianist Bill Evans and jazz guitarist Jim Hall. They would collaborate again in 1966 for the follow-up album Intermodulation. In his November 26, 1962 review for Down Beat magazine jazz critic Pete Welding states: "This collaboration between Evans and Hall has resulted in some of the most beautiful, thoroughly ingratiating music it has been my pleasure to hear..." The front cover image for Undercurrent is Toni Frissell's photograph "Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida". The album was originally released on United Artists, then reissued by Solid State in 1968. More recently, the album was reissued on EMI/Blue Note (in fact, both Blue Note and United Artists Records have been owned for a long time by EMI). The original LP and the first CD reissue featured a cropped, blue-tinted version, overlaid with the title and the Blue Note logo in white; but for the most recent (24-bit remastered) CD reissue, the image has been restored to it's original black-and-white coloration and size, without lettering.

2019 collection. In celebration of it's 10-year anniversary, Resonance is launching a series of compilations culled from it's vast catalog highlighting both living artists as well as jazz greats of the past. In celebration of it's 10-year anniversary, Resonance is launching a series of compilations culled from it's vast catalog highlighting both living artists as well as jazz greats of the past. Smile With Your Heart focuses on the jazz icon Bill Evans and includes material from his four album releases on Resonance Records.

Bill Evans is widely considered to be one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. Evans' use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to resonate today. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey on 16 August 1929, Evans was classically trained and studied at Southeastern Louisiana University. In 1955 he moved to New York, where he worked with bandleader and theorist George Russell. In 1958, Evans joined Miles Davis' sextet, where he was to have a profound influence. In 1959, the band, then immersed in modal jazz, recorded Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time. In late 1959, Evans left the Miles Davis band and began his career as a leader with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a seminal modern jazz trio. In 1961, ten days after recording the highly acclaimed Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby, LaFaro died in a car accident. After months of seclusion, Evans re-emerged with a new trio, featuring bassist Chuck Israels. Despite his success, Evans suffered personal loss and struggled with drug abuse. Both his girlfriend Elaine and his brother Harry committed suicide, and he was a long time user of heroin. Many of his compositions have become standards and have been played and recorded by many artists. Evans was honored with 31 Grammy nominations and seven awards, and was inducted in the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame. This compilation contains Evans' first 12 albums as leader covering the years 1956 - when he recorded and released his debut record New Jazz Conceptions featuring the original version of his most covered track 'Waltz For Debby' - through to his seminal Empathy album in 1962. Generally considered in jazz circles as the period in which Evans' star shone brightest and the era of his finest work, this 6CD set is as close to the perfect Bill Evans collection as is currently available.

The legendary last recording of Evans' brilliant trio (with Paul Motian and Scott LaFaro, who died days after this was taped at the Village Vanguard). Invigorating freedom and deep emotion meet and cast a powerful spell; this reissue adds alternate takes of Waltz for Debby; Detour Ahead, and My Romance plus other bonus material!

UK reissue. The original Bill Evans Trio, featuring Bill on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums, was on the verge of greatness when tragedy struck. In July 1961 LaFaro was killed in a car accident, an event that took an enormous emotional toll on Evans, who withdrew from all work for nearly a year as he struggled to come to terms with the loss of his musical counterpart. When he eventually reconvened in the studio in May 1962 with Chuck Israels as a replacement bassist, it was to record MOON BEAMS, something of a ballad collection. It has been said that there was a certain irony in recording such a collection; the material is so natural for Bill Evans, particularly with his trademark impressionistic sound collage style, yet he had never sounded quite so assertive on a recording. It was almost as though that with the loss of LaFaro and an obvious counterpoint within the group, Evans now had to lead the trio on his own. One thing Bill Evans had done ever since he departed Miles Davis' group in order to form his own trio was choose superb material, and MOON BEAMS is no exception.

Vinyl LP pressing. Live archive release. On A Monday Evening is an unreleased (and never bootlegged!) 1976 concert recording of The Bill Evans Trio, featuring Eddie Gomez and Eliot Zigmund, captured live at Madison, WI's Union Theater. The 12-track album offers both contemporary compositions from that era, as well as longstanding signature tunes of Evans', and includes new liner notes by Grammy Award-winning jazz historian Ashley Kahn, with commentary by Gomez and Zigmund. A jazz legend, Evans' use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.

Vinyl LP pressing. This 1963 LP marked the last album Bill Evans made for his first label, Riverside, and was the second of two live recordings which Evans did for the label (the other resulted in the iconic Village Vanguard LPs). But above all, these two nights at Shelly Manne's club in Hollywood marked the only recording by Evans' excellent but short-term third trio, featuring Chuck Israels on bass and LA drummer Larry Bunker. The trio performs a selection of standards with a melodic and sensitive touch. Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist and composer who mostly worked in a trio setting. Evans' use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.

Live archive release. On A Monday Evening is an unreleased (and never bootlegged!) 1976 concert recording of The Bill Evans Trio, featuring Eddie Gomez and Eliot Zigmund, captured live at Madison, WI's Union Theater. The 12-track album offers both contemporary compositions from that era, as well as longstanding signature tunes of Evans', and includes new liner notes by Grammy Award-winning jazz historian Ashley Kahn, with commentary by Gomez and Zigmund. A jazz legend, Evans' use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.

Two CDs. Archive release. This is the first official release from pianist Bill Evans with Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell captured live in Hilversum and Amsterdam in 1969. The Hilversum recordings feature Evans' only version of Duke Ellington's "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" known to exist, plus two rare tracks of the trio backed by The Metropole Orchestra. Remastered from the original tape reels, this edition includes an extensive booklet with never-before-published photos, essays and new interviews.

Live At Fabrik Hamburg 1986 (180gr./triple-gatefold) By the 1980's, Gil Evans Orchestra's repertoire was a distinctive blend of Hendrix tunes, original pieces from band members and the occasional nod to Gil's earlier recordings. The set at Hamburg includes four songs from the Hendrix book, although just one of these ("Up From The Skies") was part of the original studio album. Regular appearances in Europe meant that the band had now acquired a younger following, such as many in the audience at Fabrik, one well accustomed to it's rock-referent concerts. A year and a half after the concert at Fabrik, Gil Evans passed away in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Quite rightly he'll always be remembered for recording those brilliant, luminous albums with Miles Davis and under his own name, but he had, in fact, led at least three contrasting musical lives. His final years saw him directing his band at a regular Monday night gig at Sweet Basil, New York, so it's fitting that we now have this recording from Hamburg, one that serves as a memorial to his free-spirited later days. With an All Star Musicians Cast.

The two volumes capture two complete sets of the Bill Evans trio with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell on October 23, 1968, at Art D'Lugoff's legendary Village Gate club in New York City. It's the only Evans recording released from The Village Gate. The trio had been together only for several weeks when these recordings were made. The leader's playing remains a wonder to behold. The quality of the ideas that flowed from his brain to his hands is unmatched in the history of jazz piano. Never the flashiest nor the loudest player, Evans had a quiet grace and an exquisite impressionistic touch that to this day remain unequaled. 'Bill Evans Live at Art D'Lugoff's Top of the Gate... rivals Evans's revered Village Vanguard recordings for Riverside in June '61. The music is frighteningly vivid - like being seated at a table on stage amid the musicians.' - Wall Street Journal. Tracklist: Side A Alfie Turn Out The Stars Side B Autumn Leaves Yesterdays - Take 2 Side C In A Sentimental Mood 'Round Midnight - Take 2 Side D California Here I Come Gone With The Wind