Bill Evans Trio Live at Casale Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy - 1979 (audio only)

Bill Evans Trio Live at Casale Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy, November 30, 1979. Full concert. Audio only. Broadcast by RAI Radio 3. -Setlist set I: 01. Re: Person I Knew (Bill Evans) 02. Midnight Mood (Bill Evans) 03. Polka Dots And Moonbeams (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) 04. Theme From M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless) (Johnny Mandel) 05. A Sleepin’ Bee (Harold Arlen, Truman Capote) 06. I Do It For Your Love (Paul Simon) -Setlist set II: 09. My Romance (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 10. Noelle’s Theme (Michel Legrand) 11. I Loves You Porgy (George & Ira Gershwin) 12. Up With The Lark (Jerome Kern, Leo Robin) 13. Turn Out The Stars (By Bill Evans) 12. Five (Bill Evans) 13. Spring Is Here (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 14. Nardis (Miles Davis) 15. But Beautiful (Johnny Burke - Jimmy Van Heusen) -Lineup: Marc Johnson - Bass (1 to 7, 10 to 15) Joe LaBarbera - Drums (1 to 7, 12 to 15) Bill Evans - Piano This is the last Trio Evans would work with before his death in 1980. One of the innovators in Jazz, Evans used impressionist harmony, along with an inventive inter-pretation of Standards which continues to be influential among Jazz pianists today. His compositions, including the memorable Waltz For Debby, have been frequently played by other musicians and have become standards in Jazz repertoire. In addition to his solo and trio work, Evans worked with a veritable who’s who of Jazz musicians, including Miles Davis, Art Farmer, Cannonball Adderley and numerous others. A chaotic life, marred by a longtime heroin addiction, which prompted Jazz critic Gene Lees to describe as “the longest suicide in history”. Evans was in a considerable amount of personal turmoil, especially around this time with a severe Cocaine addiction and the suicide of his brother in May of that year weighing on him, which prompted him to cancel several dates on a Spring tour of the Northwest, Evans was still able to focus and deliver thoughtful, introspective interpretations and to continue astounding audiences. Bill Evans recorded a considerable amount during his career. Even more has been recorded in a live concert setting, and those have been issued, some officially and some clandestinely, over the years to an ever-present base of fans, admirers and students of Jazz piano. Even gone some 40 years, he still influences. And in this chaotic time, he still consoles. (). = = = “His last trio was formed in 1978, featuring the incomparably sensitive Marc Johnson on bass and drummer Joe LaBarbera, which rejuvenated the often-ailing pianist, who was elated with his new line-up, calling it “the most closely related” to his first trio (with LaFaro and Motian). He suffered yet more family problems and upheavals in his personal life, (often due to bouts with narcotics addiction) and yet brought a new dynamic musical vitality, a surer confidence, fresh energy and even more aggressive interplay to the trio’s repertoire. Evans’ health was deteriorating, however, though he insisted on working until he finally had to cancel midweek during an engagement at Fat Tuesday’s in New York. A few days later, he had to be taken to Mount Sinai Hospital on September 15, 1980, where he died from a bleeding ulcer, cirrhosis of the liver and bronchial pneumonia . He is buried next to his beloved brother Harry, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While Evans was open to new musical approaches that would not compromise his musical and artistic vision — such as his occasional use of electric piano, and his brief associations with avant-garde composer George Russell — he always insisted on the purity of the song structure and the noble history of the jazz tradition. It was a point the highly articulate Evans was quite forthcoming about in the various interviews he gave throughout his career. Consistently true to his own pianistic standards, he continued to enhance his own singular vision of music until the very end. In his short life, Bill Evans was a prolific and profoundly creative artist and a genuinely compassionate and gentle man, often in the face of his recurring health problems and his restless nature. His rich legacy remains undiminished, and his compositions have enjoyed rediscovery by jazz players and even some classical musicians. Even twenty-five years after his passing, Bill Evans’ music continues to influence musicians and composers everywhere and all those who have been deeply touched by his expressive genius and sensitive, lyrical artistry.” (Via the unofficial Bill Evans Fan page regarding this period of activity, by Jan Stevens).