Philly Joe Jones
was a member of the
Bill Evans Trio
for a short time in 1967 but none of his recordings with the pianist were released at the time. This two-LP set from 1982 features the pair (along with bassist
Eddie Gomez
who had recently started his own longtime association with
Evans
) in superb form.
Jones
consistently lit a fire under the pianist and, even though
Bill Evans
was never just an introspective
ballad
pianist (which became his stereotype), he does play with some unaccustomed ferocity on several of these selections. The 71 minutes of music feature strong versions of three of
' originals (including
"Turn Out the Stars"
) plus a dozen
standards
, highlighted by
"You're Gonna Hear From Me,"
"Gone With the Wind"
and the unlikely
"California Here I Come."
Well worth searching for. In September 2004,
Verve
reissued the album in a limited edition, 24-bit remastered CD. Where the original disc sounded thin in places -- as it is a live recording -- the remastered version sounds consistently full and warm throughout. ~ Scott Yanow