Paul Edis (piano)
Pianist Paul Edis is a fan of Bill Evans and it often shows in his playing. Tonight's live stream focussed upon the compositions of the revered American pianist. Most, if not all, of the tunes in this one hour plus set have been performed by Edis at some point down the years and hearing them again served to illustrate that our man from County Durham, currently exiled in London, continues to find something new in Evans' work.
In a set of a dozen or so numbers, our host's commentary on the life and work of his subject helped join the dots for those perhaps less familiar with Evans' place in the jazz pantheon. From the early days in NYC working in a trio with Mundell Lowe to, famously, Miles Davis, to the various trios - Scott La Faro and Paul Motian, Chuck Israels, Eddie Gomez - to recording with Stan Getz and a late period recording with Tom Harrell, this proved to be a good, representative survey.
Very Early to start, followed by a contrasting Funkallero (Edis sounding positively orchestral!), it quickly became clear that this Tuesday evening live stream should be filed under 'essential listening/viewing'. Waltz for Debby, Re: Person I Knew (Orrin Keepnews the anagramatic inspiration upon signing for Riverside), a request from George Milburn, Peace Piece (Edis noting Bernstein, Chopin and Messiaen were influential figures in Evans' development as a composer), things were shaping up nicely, another winning online concert by Dr Edis.
And then...Edis became distracted by an adjacent monitor relaying score updates from Sunderland's cup match versus Aston Villa's U23s (final score 8-1!) and a warning sign that the stream could be buffering. Intermittently the picture froze but crucially the audio just about evaded the gremlins that we have come to accept as part of the 'new normal' online gigging world.
Walking Up and 34 Skidoo played as a back-to-back selection, then Laurie. At this juncture an online comment read: Outrageously wonderful playing. And with that Edis signed off with Children's Play Song. In a fortnight (September 22) Paul Edis' turns the spotlight on Thelonious Monk. Excellent, log-in at eight.
Russell
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