A superb collection of previously unissued recordings by
Bill Evans
, 2020's
Live at Ronnie Scott's
captures the legendary pianist on tour in London with his all too briefly lived trio with bassist
Eddie Gomez
and drummer
Jack DeJohnette
. The album is
Resonance Records
' third archival release to feature
Evans
' trio from this period and follows 2016's
Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest
and 2018's
Another Time: The Hilversum Concert
.
compiles recordings made during the trio's month-long 1968 residency at the famed London Soho nightclub. It was during this residency that
DeJohnette
was invited to join
Miles Davis
' band, ending his sixth-month run with
and marking his nascent rise as a premiere post-bop and fusion drummer, somewhat of an irony considering how much
' playing a decade earlier on
Kind of Blue
helped defined
Davis
' acoustic modal jazz era. That said, while
is primarily known for his more avant-garde and electrified work, he was also a gifted piano player and had a relaxed, intuitive connection with
. Their work together with
Gomez
is often regarded as one of the pianist's high points, and their one officially released album together at the time,
At the Montreux Jazz Festival
, won a Grammy in 1969.
preferred his trio partners to complement his own playing, often encouraging them to accent his playing with their own ideas. The results could be highly kinetic and
is no exception. Particularly engaging is lyrical interplay between
and
, as on cuts like "My Man's Gone Now" and "Embraceable You," the latter of which finds the bassist playing the main melody with virtuosic results. Elsewhere, we get equally compelling takes on "Nardis," "Spring Is Here," and "Stella by Starlight." There are also introspective renditions of "Alfie" and "Quiet Now," as well as alternate versions of
' favorites "Emily" and "You're Gonna Hear from Me." While
would continue to work throughout the late '60s and into the '70s with
Marty Morell
, his trio with
had a special aura, one perfectly captured on
. ~ Matt Collar