Portrait in Jazz

Eight months after his successful collaboration with Miles Davis on the album Kind of Blue, Evans recorded Portrait in Jazz with a new group (the Bill Evans Trio) that helped change the direction of modern jazz.

Most noticeably, LaFaro's bass is promoted from a mere accompanying instrument to one of almost equal status to the piano (though not to the extent that it would be on later albums such as Sunday at the Village Vanguard). It is one of Evans' more up-tempo and swinging albums (the presence of several ballads notwithstanding).

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Down Beat (Original Lp release)	^[1]
Allmusic	^[2]
Mojo	(no rating) ^[3]

Reviewing it for Allmusic, music critic Scott Yanow wrote of the album: "... the influential interpretations were far from routine or predictable at the time. LaFaro and Motian were nearly equal partners with the pianist in the ensembles... A gem."^[2] Danny Eccleston of Mojo wrote: "Portrait In Jazz - Evans' fifth record as a band leader - gets you every which way. At its least great, it is merely brilliant... But what makes Evans extra-extra-special is the way his playing drags you in and shares the vulnerability at its core. Oh, the humanity!"^[3]

Track listing

"Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 3:24
"Autumn Leaves" (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert, Mercer) – 6:00
"Witchcraft" (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh) – 4:37
"When I Fall in Love" (Victor Young, Edward Heyman) – 4:57
"Peri's Scope" (Bill Evans) – 3:15
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" (Cole Porter) – 4:36
"Spring Is Here" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 5:09
"Someday My Prince Will Come" (Frank Churchill, Larry Morey) – 4:57
"Blue in Green" (Miles Davis, Evans) – 5:25

Bonus tracks on CD reissue:

"Come Rain or Come Shine" [Take 4] - 3:23
"Autumn Leaves" [Take 9, mono] - 5:25
"Blue in Green" [Take 1] – 4:39
"Blue in Green" [Take 2] – 4:26

Personnel

Bill Evans – piano
Scott LaFaro – bass
Paul Motian – drums

Additional personnel

Orrin Keepnews – producer
Jack Higgins – engineer
George Horn – mastering

References

↑ Down Beat: September 15, 1960 Vol. 27, No. 19
1 2 Yanow, Scott. "Portrait in Jazz > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
1 2 Eccleston, Danny. "Portrait in Jazz > Review". Mojo. Retrieved June 28, 2011.

External links

Bill Evans

Discography	New Jazz Conceptions Tenderly: An Informal Session Everybody Digs Bill Evans On Green Dolphin Street The Ivory Hunters Portrait in Jazz Know What I Mean? Explorations Sunday at the Village Vanguard Waltz for Debby Nirvana Undercurrent Moon Beams How My Heart Sings! Interplay Empathy Loose Blues The Solo Sessions, Vol. 1 The Solo Sessions, Vol. 2 The Gary McFarland Orchestra Conversations With Myself Plays the Theme from The V.I.P.s and Other Great Songs Time Remembered At Shelly's Manne-Hole Trio 64 Stan Getz & Bill Evans The Bill Evans Trio "Live" Waltz for Debby Trio '65 Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra Bill Evans at Town Hall Intermodulation A Simple Matter of Conviction Further Conversations with Myself California Here I Come Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival Alone What's New Jazzhouse You're Gonna Hear from Me From Left to Right Quiet Now Montreux II Piano Player The Bill Evans Album Living Time The Tokyo Concert Eloquence Half Moon Bay Since We Met Re: Person I Knew Symbiosis But Beautiful Blue in Green: The Concert in Canada Intuition The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album Montreux III Alone (Again) Quintessence Together Again The Paris Concert Crosscurrents I Will Say Goodbye You Must Believe in Spring Getting Sentimental New Conversations Affinity Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz We Will Meet Again Homecoming The Paris Concert: Edition One The Paris Concert: Edition Two Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings Letter to Evan Turn Out the Stars The Last Waltz: The Final Recordings Consecration: The Final Recordings Part 2

Compositions	"Waltz for Debby" "Blue in Green" "Flamenco Sketches" "Time Remembered"

Band members	Monty Budwig Larry Bunker Jack DeJohnette Eddie Gómez Chuck Israels Marc Johnson Philly Joe Jones Sam Jones Teddy Kotick Joe LaBarbera Scott LaFaro Michael Moore Marty Morell Paul Motian Gary Peacock

Associated musicians	Cannonball Adderley Chet Baker Tony Bennett Bob Brookmeyer Kenny Burrell Ron Carter Miles Davis Stan Getz Jim Hall Freddie Hubbard Lee Konitz Harold Land Shelly Manne Warne Marsh Claus Ogerman George Russell Zoot Sims Toots Thielemans Monica Zetterlund

Related articles	Tribute albums

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, January 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.