Sunday at the Village Vanguard: Bill Evans Trio—Craft Recordings/Original Jazz Classics Series—2023 (33 RPM/180G LP)

Sunday at the Village Vanguard was the first of two recordings released from live sets Bill Evans played at Greenwich Village’s fabled jazz club on June 25, 1961. The second was Waltz for Debby (released in 1962). Less than two weeks later, Evans’ star bassist, Scott LaFaro was killed in a car crash in Rochester, NY, aged 25.

So, June 25, 1961, was a seminal day in jazz—two of the finest jazz recordings ever made followed shortly by a cataclysmic event that would shake the jazz world. LaFaro’s death stopped Evans in his tracks—heartbroken, he didn’t touch the piano for months.

Sunday at the Village Vanguard was released in Oct 1961 on Riverside.

Many consider this iteration of the trio Evans’ best (including Evans). In addition to LaFaro, Paul Motian plays drums. The recording was produced by Orrin Keepnews and engineered by Dave Jones.

The tracklist includes:

"Gloria's Step"

"My Man's Gone Now"

"Solar”

"Alice in Wonderland"

"All of You"

"Jade Visions"

The performances are legendary—so good you could play them on an old Sony Walkman on the NYC subway in rush hour and still have a magical musical experience. There are ways to have an equally good vinyl audiophile experience, too.

With such an important album, there have been many reissues and represses. This latest one is from Craft Recordings from their Original Jazz Classics Series. Both Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby (already released) were remastered by virtuoso recutter, Kevin Gray.

I want to thank Jacob Mask of Craft Recordings for providing a pre-release copy to Audiophilia. The release date is Nov 17, 2023.

Sound

I’ve not heard OGs of either Sunday at the Village Vanguard or Waltz for Debby. My experience with Sunday at the Village Vanguard has been limited to dodgy vinyl reissues with some CD and streaming experience. I purchased the Analogue Productions Doug Sax cut of Waltz for Debby when it was first released in 1992. I’ve been in love with that record ever since—it’s one of the stars of my collection. Kevin Gray’s 2023 Craft/OJC recut was wonderful but did not improve on Doug Sax’s amazing remastering. Others disagree with me (and told me about it on Facebook and elsewhere), but no mind. Three sets of ears enjoyed an afternoon with wine and a shootout chez nous. And while we all agreed both versions are very fine, Sax’s warmth slightly won out (x3). But then there’s Gray’s portrayal of Motian’s drums. Wow! Decisions. (Gray’s prowess in delivering remarkable drum sounds continues on Sunday at the Village Vanguard ).

If you don’t have the Analogue Productions $900 45 RPM Bill Evans box set from 2022 or the 2017 MoFi “One Step” (reportedly, both have great sonic pedigree), this will do nicely, thank you.

Getting a clean OG for a decent price has been difficult. I never heard the 1984 OJC-140 reissue (I’ve read that all OJCs reissues pre 150 are cut from analogue tapes), but most OJCs I’ve heard from that era do a good job.

But times have changed. Not so much working with digital, which the very best remastering engineers now do with superb results, but with up-to-date tube and solid-state remastering equipment and techniques producing all-analogue. When was the last time you heard an all-analogue dud cut from the pen of one of these guys in the last couple of years? That’s right. Their consistency is astonishing. Even with tapes not in the best condition. Which brings us to Evans.

For example, Everybody Digs Bill Evans (released in 1959 on Riverside)—I have the original OJC cut by Steve Hoffman (OJC-068 1983)—there is a lot of piano distortion from the 1959 original tapes. As Steve said with tongue firmly planted, “Was I able to work magic? Yes. I wiped out Bill Evans' nasty old distorted piano track and overdubbed myself playing.” Steve’s a funny guy. He continues, “Really, there is only one master of that album. The distortion is on the master tape. I toned it down a bit but it's there.”

Because of the nature of oxidation, I was a little concerned about the original master tape quality for this new Sunday at the Village Vanguard remastering. I asked Kevin Gray about it. Gray responded:

Hi Anthony,

There have been problems with oxide shedding on several of the Craft tapes. I think it is due to improper storage at some point in their "life". This is not the so-called "sticky shed" (a '70s Ampex problem) that baking will fix, it is literally oxide coming off the backing. It is most prevalent on Scotch 201 series tapes from 1964 on.  And it affects many 201 tapes, not just Craft. 

Best,

Kev

As such, it was with some nervousness waiting for UPS to drop off from Los Angeles. A quick clean on the Degritter MARK II (review up tomorrow), and away we went.

The record arrived shipped professionally; it was flat and silent, the labels were affixed correctly and the center holes were cut accurately. No corner damage on the lovely, tactile Tip-On jacket. A first-class product.

From L to R—Scott LaFaro, Bill Evans, and Paul Motian in the Village Vanguard green room room between sets.

No fears. The record is another splendid achievement by Kevin Gray and his team at Cohearent. Yes, there is the odd frequency shout when Bill gets excited in the upper register and the odd note in “All of You” has some fleeting distortion. I report this to be completely accurate but in no way does any errant treble on the original tape hinder the recut sound in any way. From beginning to end (even though you know every note, you won’t want it to end), the sound is absolutely beautiful. I’m not sure if it’s Gray or the original engineer Dave Jones who places drummer Paul Motian in the perfect light (stage left, rear) but he’s the most remarkable accompanist and when he jumps into the spotlight for an extended solo, he’s a star as equal as LaFaro (stage left, front) and Evans (stage right).

The record was subtitled “Featuring Scott LaFaro” which seems antithetical to the way Bill Evans did business. But, you know, record execs! No matter, the trio acts as one and then each player provides the most amazing solos. LaFaro’s vaunted tone and technique are heard perfectly in Gray’s cut. One of my critics (for whom I generally have great respect) told me in no uncertain terms that my preference for Doug Sax’s mix over Kevin Gray’s 2023 Waltz for Debby was not correct because “Doug cut Debby way too hot. He missed some of LaFaro’s special technique which Gray captures perfectly”. I still disagree. Yet, LaFaro’s pluck and decay (oftentimes at lightning speed) sound amazing on this Craft/OJC.

Then there’s Bill Evans. The poet, the magician, the genius. The alchemy is all here sounding sublime. Whether you’re tapping your feet in sync with his hard driving in Miles Davis’ “Solar”, or he’s breaking your heart in a ballad like “My Man’s Gone” or he’s once again imitating Dinu Lipattu in Chopin Waltzes (Sammy Fain’s “Alice in Wonderland”)—Evans does the perfect jazz waltzes—you’ll be mesmerized.

Timbre, fine details, layering and imaging all within the triangular basement room of the Village Vanguard is audiophile impressive. The respectful audience has a little more gusto than the earlier/later sets for Waltz for Debby. Here they are appreciative, with no attention-seeking whoops and whistles.

So an enthusiastic buy recommendation. I guess if you have the MoFi One Step (running upwards of 2 grand sealed on Discogs) or the Analogue Productions 45 RPM from 2002 (about $500 on Discogs and also cut by Kevin Gray along with Steve Hoffman) you’re all set. If not, the old OJC (1984) on Discogs will run you about the same price as this superb new Craft release, about $39. So go ahead, treat yourself. Very highly recommended.

Released Nov 17, 2023.

Release as part of the newly relaunched Original Jazz Classic series

• Featuring Bill Evans (piano), Scott LaFaro (bass), and Paul Motian (drums)
• All-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
• Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI
• Presented in Tip-On Jacket with Obi

Our vinyl reference system used to evaluate Craft’s new 2023 Sunday at the Village Vanguard.