BEST PREMIERES OF 2022

Bill Evans is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists all time and is known for interpreting the jazz repertoire using impressionistic harmonies. In 1958, Evans first played in Miles Davis’s sextet recording the modal jazz album “Kind of Blue”, which is now considered one of the best jazz albums of all time. After leaving the ensemble, Evans formed several trios. In this concert, recorded at Maison de la Radio in Paris in 1972, Evans performs with his longest standing trio, featuring Eddie Gomez on double bass and Marty Morell on drums. The program features some of Evans's own compositions, including the jazz waltz “Very Early” and the modal jazz piece “Time Remembered”, as well as jazz standard “Autumn Leaves”.

Dexter Gordon is regarded one of bebop's first tenor saxophonists. He played and recorded with prominent musicians in this genre, including Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Gordon's bebop was a major influence on later generations of saxophonists after him, such as John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, who in turn also influenced Gordon’s playing when he started exploring hard bop in the 1960s. Moving to Europe in the mid 1960s, he performed with visiting American players and local jazz artists, such as Georges Arvanitas (piano), Alby Cullaz (double bass), and Daniel Humair (drums), as seen in this concert. Gordon performed his own “Fried Bananas”, Henry Mancini's “Days of Wine and Roses”, and John Coltrane’s “Some Other Blues” at Maison de la Radio in Paris, on July 24, 1973.

The 1964 edition of the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins saw the return of the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. Together with Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Bill Yancey on double bass, and Gus Johnson on drums, the tireless singer performed such classics from the Great American songbook such as 'Them There Eyes', 'The Lady Is a Tramp', 'Summertime', 'I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket', 'St. Louis Blues', and 'Perdido', and a few novelties, such as Steve Allen and Ray Brown's 'Cutie Pants'. It is no surprise this legendary concert from Juan-les-Pins was released on LP!

Like trumpeters Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie is sacred to jazz history. One of the founders of modern as well as Latin jazz, Gillespie is joined by guitarist George Davis, pianist Mike Longo, double bassist Red Mitchell, and drummer David Lee, for this performance at Maison de la Radio in Paris, France, recorded on March 15, 1970. Gillespie and the band perform some of his own pieces, such as 'A Night in Tunisia', 'Kush', and 'Oo-Pop-A-Da', as well as Mike Longo’s compositions 'Alligator' and 'Let Me Out'.