Bill Evans Trio - Waltz For Debby [Violet]

Waltz For Debby captures the Bill Evans Trio live at the Village Vanguard on a single Sunday in 1961, now pressed on violet vinyl.

Released in 1962, it draws from the same sessions as Sunday At The Village Vanguard, the last recordings of the trio with bassist Scott LaFaro, who died in a car crash only days later. That knowledge gives every note an extra ache, though the music itself is full of warmth and quiet joy. Orrin Keepnews produced for Riverside.

The interplay is the magic. LaFaro's bass trades lines with Evans's piano as an equal partner, and Paul Motian's brushes whisper underneath. My Foolish Heart opens at a near-whisper, the title track turns Evans's tune for his young niece into a lilting, graceful waltz, and Detour Ahead floats by in soft melancholy before Milestones closes with a nimble take on the Miles Davis theme.

You can hear glasses clink and the room murmur, which only adds to the intimacy. It feels less like a concert than a late-night conversation overheard from a corner table, with three musicians listening as hard as they play.

Many listeners call this the finest piano trio record ever made, and it is hard to argue once the needle drops.