Quintessence (Bill Evans album)
| Quintessence | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August–September 1977 | |||
| Recorded | May 27–30, 1976 | |||
| Studio | Fantasy Studios, Berkeley | |||
| Genre | Jazz, post-bop, cool jazz | |||
| Length | 42:56 (reissue) | |||
| Label | Fantasy F-9529 CD: Original Jazz Classics OJCCD 698-2 | |||
| Producer | Helen Keane | |||
| Bill Evans chronology | ||||
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Quintessence is an album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans. It was recorded in 1976 for Fantasy Records and released the following year. At this time usually playing solo or with his trio, for these sessions Evans was the leader of an all-star quintet featuring Harold Land on tenor saxophone, guitarist Kenny Burrell, Ray Brown on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Evans had never previously worked with Land, Burrell, or Brown,[1] but the quintet instrumentation, with tenor sax and guitar, mirrors that of the second Interplay session of 1962.[2] One track, "The Second Time Around," is played by trio only. As with many Evans albums from this period, it includes a selection by Michel Legrand, in this case "Martina," which Barbra Streisand had recorded in 1965.
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [4] |
Writing for AllMusic, Scott Yanow called the album "a nice change of pace ... tasteful and explorative in a subtle way."[3] Biographer Keith Shadwick notes that Evans here "seems mostly concerned with being a pianist within a group rather than leading it by example, and the resulting album sounds very much a co-operative effort. ... Perhaps [Evans's] best and most concentrated playing comes on Thad Jones's ballad 'A Child Is Born' where he presents the first three minutes of the performance as a piano-trio arrangement, including a piano solo, before Kenny Burrell's entry." Shadwick also notes that even though the album did not "set out to make a Significant Statement," it was nonetheless "a relaxed and rewarding quintet session and one of the highlights in Evans's later recording career."[6]
Track listing[edit]
- "Sweet Dulcinea Blue" (Kenny Wheeler) – 6:02
- "Martina" (Michel Legrand, Eddy Marnay, Hal Shaper) – 8:12
- "Second Time Around" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn) – 3:41
- "A Child Is Born" (Thad Jones, Alec Wilder) – 7:30
- "Bass Face" (Kenny Burrell) – 10:04
CD reissue bonus track:
- "Nobody Else but Me" (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 7:27
Personnel[edit]
- Bill Evans – piano
- Harold Land – tenor saxophone
- Kenny Burrell – guitar
- Ray Brown – bass
- Philly Joe Jones – drums
Technical personnel[edit]
- Helen Keane – producer
- Phil Kaffel – engineer
- Phil DeLancie – remastering
- Galen Rowell – cover photo
- Phil Bray – booklet photos
Chart positions[edit]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Billboard Jazz Albums[7] | 20 |
References[edit]
- ^ Pettinger, Peter, Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings, Yale University Press (1998), p. 240.
- ^ Shadwick, Keith, Bill Evans: Everything Happens to Me, Back Beat Books (2002), p. 170.
- ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "Quintessence > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. New York: Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 73. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 458. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Shadwick, p. 170.
- ^ "Billboard Best Selling Jazz LPs". Billboard. Vol. 89, no. 40. October 8, 1977. p. 94. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
