Top of the Gate

If you’re a jazz fan, you already love Bill Evans. His piano improvisations are canonical. They hold up through decades of listening. When I first heard him, back when I was in high school, John Kennedy was president, and I knew Evans was the real deal. But, as my musical sophistication grew, so did my understanding of just how good he was. Now, a half-century later, come these recordings Evans made in the late ’60s, at the peak of his powers, performing upstairs at the Village Gate. It’s a two-album treasure trove that’s a bit like time travel, though these takes are also unfettered by time. Resonance Records can take justified pride in this package that includes great liner notes by Nat Hentoff and a period photo of the exterior of the Gate in daytime, with lots of thin hipsters in pegged pants hanging out on the street. But the biggest delights are in the grooves, with Evans, Eddie Gomez and Marty Morrell doing what jazz trios did when they were playing with complete synchronicity. No praise I’ve ever offered in a review was as fully deserved as this.