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Bill Evans
The sound of glasses clinking together, the sound of giggling, ashtrays full of cigarette butts…
The Village Vanguard in New York City on June 25, 1961.
Starring the Bill Evans Trio. Bill Evans, 31, Scott La Faro, 27, and Paul Motian, 30. It was a day to record a memorable work for these three young and brilliant musicians.
The two performances recorded that day became two albums, "Waltz for Debbie" and "Sunday at the Village Vanguard," two of the classic albums in the Riverside tetralogy.
However, 11 days after this performance, bassist Scott Ruffalo was killed in a car accident.
Whenever I read this story, I always wonder if it is a twist of fate, or why God would want to create such a tragedy in the first place.
This trio was Bill Evans' finest trio, especially with Scott La Faro, a combination that could never be recreated.
Knowing this, Bill Evans was not allowed to touch the piano for a while after his death.
I could see how disappointed and lonely he must have felt.
I'm not sure of the source, but it seems that Scott La Faro was a very eccentric person, and he used to yell at Bill Evans during the show, saying things like "You're not paid enough," "You should pay more," and "You're not good enough. Well, he was young, so it was inevitable that he would get into fights, but his image was far from what I imagined from his beautiful, crystal clear bass sound.
Bill Evans was also quite an eccentric, or rather, not a normal person, with a severe addiction to drugs and alcohol that left his teeth mostly decayed and in shambles. He also drove his longtime girlfriend to suicide, and soon after, he married someone else, while writing a beautiful song dedicated to her. He has a very complicated mental structure, or perhaps genius is a fine line, or perhaps he is a psychopath… I have mixed feelings about this.
Bill Evans in his later years is a painful figure.
Although he is only around 50, he has become stocky, either fat or swollen, with long hair, a beard, and no trace of his old self, and his hands are swollen from playing the keyboard.
But the music he spins transcends all that, and is perfect.
All of his performances are truly amazing. Whether it was when he was young, solo, trio, sextet with Miles, with electronic organ, accompanying Tony Bennett, playing with Jim Hall…
If I had to pick one song that he played that I liked…
I choose "Danny Boy," recorded by him on April 4, 1962, as a piano solo.
I finally recorded this solo about 10 months after Scott Ruffalo's death.
An Irish folk song that lasts more than 10 minutes.
I am moved by the piano melody, which is quietly thinking of Scott Ruffalo, sometimes revealing his emotions, as if it is talking to him.
I slipped out and didn't make it on September 15, but… R.I.P.
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