Elemental Music has released a double-CD package of late-1960s Bill Evans recordings. Treasures: Solo, Trio and Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969) pulls together 30 live performances unavailable publicly since they debuted on Danish radio. A 52-page booklet accompanies the release.
A triple-disc vinyl version was released for Record Store Day last week.
This is the 10th archival release issued by the Bill Evans Estate. Producer Zev Feldman says the project was a group effort.
“Treasures comes as a result of the great investigative work of my co-producers, Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustín Calembert of Elemental Music, who spent a tremendous amount of time scouring various Danish archives for lost tapes,” says Feldman. “None of these recordings has ever been released before. They are being heard for the very first time since the original radio broadcasts that aired in the 1960s.”
Music journalist and Evans expert Marc Myers says this period was a significant one for the artist. “On this set, we hear Evans in 1965, 1966, and 1969 in different locations in Denmark, with varied ensembles that feature a range of superb sidemen. The joy of this set is that it offers us every type of performance configuration during an ambitious and poetic phase of his career, ranging from solo and trio recordings to orchestral interpretations. All document Evans’s steady ascent as a premier global jazz figure.”
The performances – by Evans and the brilliant musicians with him – are spellbinding. Just as his solo performances sparkle in their pure expression of the man’s vision, the trio and orchestra sessions add welcome dimension, in a manner consistent with what made him one of the greats.