Bill Evans Alone
Encyclopedia
Bill Evans Alone is an album by jazz
musician Bill Evans
, released in 1968. The Grammy Award-winning Alone was Bill Evans' first single piano solo album following in the footsteps of his 1963 Verve session Conversations With Myself
(three pianos overdubbed) and his 1967 Further Conversations with Myself
, also on Verve (two pianos overdubbed). It has been reissued in various forms with additional tracks and alternate takes from sessions on September 23, October 8 and 21st.
wrote of the album "... Evans' final Verve album is one of his weaker dates... This set is therefore only recommended to Bill Evans' completists who already have 50 of his other recordings."
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
, released in 1968. The Grammy Award-winning Alone was Bill Evans' first single piano solo album following in the footsteps of his 1963 Verve session Conversations With Myself
Conversations with Myself
Conversations with Myself is a 1963 album by American jazz musician Bill Evans.-History:Recorded at three different studio sessions on February 6 and 9, and May 20, 1963, Evans recorded the album using the then controversial method of overdubbing three different yet corresponding piano tracks for...
(three pianos overdubbed) and his 1967 Further Conversations with Myself
Further Conversations with Myself
Further Conversations with Myself is a 1967 album by jazz pianist Bill Evans. All the pieces are solo with piano overdubs, a method Evans used on his earlier release Conversations with Myself...
, also on Verve (two pianos overdubbed). It has been reissued in various forms with additional tracks and alternate takes from sessions on September 23, October 8 and 21st.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Scott YanowScott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
wrote of the album "... Evans' final Verve album is one of his weaker dates... This set is therefore only recommended to Bill Evans' completists who already have 50 of his other recordings."
Track listing
- "Here's That Rainy DayHere's That Rainy Day"Here's That Rainy Day" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, published in 1953. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders...
" (Johnny BurkeJohnny Burke (lyricist)Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 5:17 - "A Time for Love" (Johnny MandelJohnny MandelJohnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
, Paul Francis WebsterPaul Francis WebsterPaul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
) – 5:02 - "Midnight Mood" (Ben Raleigh, Joe ZawinulJoe ZawinulJosef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer.First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with...
) – 5:16 - "On a Clear Day You Can See ForeverOn a Clear Day You Can See ForeverOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated...
)" (Burton LaneBurton LaneBurton Lane was an American composer and lyricist. His most popular and successful work is the musical Finian's Rainbow, "the score for which Lane will always be most remembered."-Biography:...
, Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
) – 4:45 - "Never Let Me Go" (Ray EvansRay EvansRaymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films...
, Jay LivingstonJay LivingstonJay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
) – 14:28- Additional tracks:
- Medley: "All the Things You AreAll the Things You Are"All the Things You Are" is a song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II.It was written for the musical Very Warm for May , where it was introduced by Hiram Sherman, Frances Mercer, Hollace Shaw, and Ralph Stuart...
"/"Midnight Mood" (Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
)/(Ben Raleigh, Joe Zawinul) – 4:08 - "A Time for Love" (Mandel, Webster) – 6:56