Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Bill Evans Trio: Bill Evans (piano); Scott LaFaro (bass); Paul Motian (drums).
Recorded live at The Village Vanguard, New York, New York on June 25, 1961.
Jazz pianist Bill Evans began a quiet revolution in the early 1960s. Before Evans, jazz piano trios spotlighted the pianist while the others essentially accompanied him or her. Evans envisioned a trio where all three musicians were on an equal footing, where they'd truly interact. SUNDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD, recorded live in 1961, captures the original Bill Evans Trio at its peak. Drummer Paul Motian plays with grace, subtlety, and restraint that are equal to Evans's, and bassist Scott LaFaro (who also played with Ornette Coleman) has a rapport with the others that seems telepathic. Evans absorbed the bebop approach to the keys but also took inspiration from the suave pianism of Nat "King" Cole and 20th-century classical Impressionism. SUNDAY is piano trio jazz that's executed so beautifully one might not notice how complex it really is.