Trio Meets Orchestra: A Divided Reception
Critics split sharply over Evans bringing his trio before a full orchestra, and the debate has never fully settled.
When Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra arrived in 1966, critical opinion split almost immediately. Scott Yanow, reviewing it for AllMusic, was harsh, calling it predictably dull and one of Evans's least significant records, a weak third stream effort. That was not the whole story. Johnny Mandel admired it a great deal, and Tony Bennett later said it ranked among his all-time favorite albums, which gave the record a quieter, more devoted following than its initial reviews suggested.
The premise is straightforward. Evans and his trio play jazz arrangements of pieces by Granados, J.S. Bach, Scriabin, Fauré, and Chopin, backed by strings and woodwinds arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman. Originals by Evans and Ogerman round out the program. The orchestral writing leans lush, and the trio tends to sit inside it rather than fight it, so the interest lies in how Evans's inward, rippling touch behaves against the sweep of the strings.
If you already know Evans's trio records with Scott LaFaro, this will sound like a different project, and it is. Start with Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961) or Waltz for Debby (1961) before coming here. This one is for listeners curious about Evans's orchestral experiments, not for those looking for his core work.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Bill Evans
Portrait in Jazz 1960
Everybody Digs Bill Evans 1959
You Must Believe in Spring 1981
New Jazz Conceptions 1957
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
