1. You and the Night and the Music
2. Here Is Something For You
3.
A Sleepin' Bee
4. But Not For Me
5.
Waltz For Debby
6.
Five
7.
Blue In Green
8.
Detour Ahead
9.
Minha (All Mine)
10.
My Foolish Heart
11.
But Beautiful/Here's That Rainy Day
12.
I Love My Wife
13.
For Nenette
14.
Evanesque
15.
Solar
16.
After All
17.
Introduction to "Here Is Something For You"
Eliane Elias - Piano, vocals
Marc Johnson - Bass
Joey Baron - Drums
Bill Evans - Piano (track 17)
Marc
Johnson played bass in the Bill Evans Trio
for two years before Evans died in 1980. Evans
gave Johnson a cassette of tunes he had roughed
out but left unfinished. When Marc rediscovered
this tape and played it to his wife, singing
pianist Eliane Elias, she was inspired to
record this CD - subtitled "Eliane Elias Sings
and Plays Bill Evans". She is a good person
to pay such homage, since her piano style
is - like Bill's - subtle and thoughtful.
In fact the predominant mood of this album
is gentle and contemplative, although Eliane
adds vocals to quite a few of the tunes.
Imprinted
on my mind is an image of Bill Evans from
the only time I saw him, giving a concert
in London. His head was bowed so low over
the keyboard that it almost touched the keys.
Here, indeed, was an introvert, a pianist
who seldom went in for showy musical pyrotechnics.
Eliane respects this inward-looking aspect
of Evans, although her Brazilian roots ensure
that flashes of fire emerge in the music.
For instance, the opening You and the Night
and the Music combines Evans's clarity
and lightness of touch with an infectious
swing.
Eliane's
vocals are also notable for their clarity,
and they add a new dimension to the numbers
associated with Evans. Her version of Waltz
for Debby starts with a tender vocal but
then breaks into a bluesy four-in-a-bar piano
solo. In fact she is a more considerable vocalist
than many who nowadays pass for jazz singers.
Yet it is her piano playing that continually
catches the ear, with a harmonic richness
similar to that of Bill Evans and a pleasing
delicacy of touch. Savour how she blends But
Beautiful with Here's That Rainy Day
- one tune merging seamlessly into another.
Eliane
Elias composed one track herself - the touching
After All - and added her own lyrics
to a couple of the rediscovered Evans tunes:
Here Is Something For You and Evanesque.
The album ends with Evans's own sketch for
the former, poorly recorded but with generously
cascading notes and Bill laughing with pleasure
at his invention, which Elias transforms into
the brilliant second track. On every
other track the recorded sound is attractively
clear, although it tends to relegate drummer
Joey Baron to the background, leaving Mr and
Mrs Johnson to take most of the limelight.
But Joey gets occasional moments of glory,
like the four-bar breaks in Five.
Eliane
deliberately chose to perform a lot of songs
on the album, with shortish solos, "and do
them in a way that I can deliver my message
without having to play five choruses". It
gives the listener a remarkably rich, concentrated
experience, without a note wasted. This album
is not only a deserved tribute to Bill Evans
but shining proof of Eliane's established
stature as a significant pianist and singer.
Tony
Augarde
CD Reviews
Blue
Note 50999 5 11795 2 6
