''Conversations with Myself'' is a 1963 album by American jazz musician

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

History

Recording with Glenn Gould's piano, CD 318, at studio sessions on February 6 and 9, and May 20, 1963, Evans used the method of

overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

three different yet corresponding piano tracks for each song. The album features mostly traditional pop standards. Alongside these are three compositions by Thelonious Monk, and one Evans original, "N.Y.C.'s No Lark", commemorating Evans' friend and fellow jazz pianist Sonny Clark, who died one month before Evans began work on the album. Evans followed ''Conversations with Myself'' with ''

Further Conversations with Myself ''Further Conversations with Myself'' is a 1967 album by jazz pianist Bill Evans. All the pieces are solo with piano overdubs, a method Evans used on his earlier release ''Conversations with Myself (album), Conversations with Myself''. It was reis ...

'' (1967) and '' New Conversations'' (1978), both recorded in a similar vein.

Critical reception

The album earned Evans his first Grammy Award in 1964 for

Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that was first presented in 1959. History From 1959 to 2011, the Award was called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group. In 2012, it was shortened to Best Jazz Instrumenta ...

. It received a 5-star review in ''

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' in 1963.''All About Jazz'' review. Jason R. Laipply
Retrieved January 2009. Writing for Allmusic, music critic Michael G. Nastos wrote:

Certainly one of the more unusual items in the discography of an artist whose consistency is as evident as any in modern jazz, and nothing should dissuade you from purchasing this one of a kind album that in some ways set a technological standard for popular music – and jazz – to come.

Jason Laipply of '' All About Jazz'' wrote:

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was an instant classic for the jazz community. Evans' work on the ten tunes included here is truly inspired and amazing to behold... this glimpse of the artist at a heightened level of expression is very rewarding indeed. However, for the casual fan, I would not suggest this disc. The musical vocabulary is complex enough that the simple beauty of the songs, and Evans’ playing, is at times lost.

Track listing

#" 'Round Midnight" ( Monk, Williams) – 6:35 #" How About You?" ( Lane,

Ralph Freed Ralph Freed (1 May 1907, Vancouver - February 13, 1973) was a Canadian born American lyricist and television producer. Early Life Born May 1, 1907 to Max Freed and Rosie (Rosza) Grossman who met in Charleston, SC. Ralph married Grace H. Berchma ...

) – 2:50 #"'' Spartacus'' Love Theme" ( Alex North) – 5:10 #" Blue Monk" (Monk) – 4:32 #" Stella by Starlight" ( Young, Washington) – 4:52 #" Hey There" ( Richard Adler,

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

) – 4:31 #"N.Y.C.'s No Lark" (Bill Evans) – 5:36 #" Just You, Just Me" ( Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages) – 2:37 #"

Bemsha Swing This is a list of compositions by jazz musician Thelonious Monk. 0-9 52nd Street Theme A contrafact based loosely on rhythm changes in C, and was copyrighted by Monk under the title "Nameless" in April 1944. The tune was also called "Bip Bop" b ...

" (

Denzil Best Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Best was born in New York City, into a musi ...

, Monk) – 2:56 #" A Sleepin' Bee" ( Arlen, Capote) – 4:10 ''Tracks 9 and 10 not part of original LP release. Track 7 recorded on February 6, 1963; tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8-10 on February 9; tracks 3 and 4 recorded on May 20, 1963.''

Personnel

*Bill Evans - piano (multi-tracked) *

Creed Taylor Creed Bane Taylor V (May 13, 1929 – August 22, 2022) was an American record producer, best known for his work with CTI Records, which he founded in 1967. His career also included periods at Bethlehem Records, ABC-Paramount Records (including ...

- producer

References

External links

Jazz Discography entries for Bill Evans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversations With Myself 1963 albums Verve Records albums Bill Evans albums Albums produced by Creed Taylor Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album