''Paris Blues'' is an album of duets by

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role i ...

and

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

Steve Lacy recorded in Paris in 1987 and released on the French Owl label. The album was Evans' final studio recording before his death in 1988. The album was released in the US on

Sunnyside Records Sunnyside Records is an American jazz record company and label established by François Zalacain in 1982 initially to release an album by pianist Harold Danko. Albums by Kirk Lightsey and Lee Konitz soon followed beginning a sequence of release ...

in 2003.Sunnyside Records: album details
accessed December 18, 2019

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 1½ stars stating "In truth, Evans's playing here is generally little more than melody statements and comping behind Lacy and, although the soprano is in top form, little of significance occurs... of greater interest from a historical standpoint than musical".Yanow, S
Allmusic Review
accessed June 13, 2014. ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' observed "it's scarcely a momentous occasion, musically speaking, for either man... Interesting to hear Lacy at work on his music, but in the end the results are merely light and agreeable".

Track listing

# "Reincarnation of a Lovebird" ( Charles Mingus) – 7:05 # "Paris Blues" ( Duke Ellington) – 5:17 # "Esteem" (Steve Lacy) – 9:07 # "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress Then Blue Silk" (Mingus) – 14:42 # "

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a jazz instrumental composed by Charles Mingus, originally recorded by his sextet in 1959 and released on his album '' Mingus Ah Um''. It was subsequently released on his 1963 album, '' Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Ming ...

(Mingus) – 8:42 # "Jelly Roll" (Gil Evans) – 5:43 (bonus track on CD) # "Esteem" (Lacy) – 8:54 (bonus track on CD)

Personnel

– piano, electric piano * Steve Lacy – soprano saxophone

References

{{Authority control 1988 albums Gil Evans albums Steve Lacy (saxophonist) albums Sunnyside Records albums