''Undercurrent'' is a 1962 album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist Bill Evans and jazz guitarist Jim Hall. The two men collaborated again in 1966 on the album ''

Intermodulation Intermodulation (IM) or intermodulation distortion (IMD) is the amplitude modulation of signals containing two or more different frequencies, caused by nonlinearities or time variance in a system. The intermodulation between frequency comp ...

''.

Cover and releases

The front cover image for ''Undercurrent'' is Toni Frissell's photograph "Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida". The album was originally released on

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

, then reissued by Solid State in 1968. Later, the album was reissued on the

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

label; both Blue Note and United Artists Records have been part of the same catalog for many decades. The original LP and the first CD reissue featured a cropped, blue-tinted version, overlaid with the title and the Blue Note logo in white; but for the most recent (24-bit remastered) CD reissue, the image has been restored to its original black-and-white coloration and size, without lettering.

Reception

In his November 26, 1962 review for '' DownBeat'' magazine jazz critic Pete Welding states: "This collaboration between Evans and Hall has resulted in some of the most beautiful, thoroughly ingratiating music it has been my pleasure to hear."

Track listing

Original LP # " My Funny Valentine" ( Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 5:21 # "

I Hear a Rhapsody "I Hear a Rhapsody" is a 1941 pop song that became a jazz standard, composed by George Fragos, Jack Baker, and Dick Gasparre. Written in 1940, in 1941 it was a top 10 hit for three separate artists, Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey and Dinah Shore. ...

" (Jack Baker, George Fragos, Dick Gasparre) – 4:36 # "Dream Gypsy" (Judith Veevers)– 4:33 # "Romain" (Jim Hall) – 5:19 # "Skating in Central Park" (

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

) – 5:19 # "

Darn That Dream "Darn That Dream" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. It was published in 1939 and ranked No. 1 in 1940 when a recording was released by Benny Goodman in an arrangement by Eddie Sauter with Mildred Bailey ...

" (

Eddie DeLange Eddie DeLange (''né'' Edgar DeLange Moss; 15 January 1904 – 15 July 1949) was an American bandleader and lyricist. Famous artists who recorded some of DeLange's songs include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duk ...

, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 5:04 Bonus tracks on 2002 Blue Note CD reissue: #

" Stairway to the Stars" (

Matty Malneck Matthew Michael "Matty" Malneck (December 9, 1903 – February 25, 1981) was an American jazz violinist, songwriter, and arranger. Career Born in 1903, Malneck's career as a violinist began when he was age 16. He was a member of the Paul White ...

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

Frank Signorelli Frank Signorelli (May 24, 1901 – December 9, 1975) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Signorelli was born to an Italian Sicilian family in New York City, New York. Signorelli was a founding member of the Original Memphis Five in 1917, ...

) – 5:38 # "

I'm Getting Sentimental Over You "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" is a song recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. The words were written by Ned Washington and the music was written by George Bassman. It was first performed in 1932. The original copyright is dated 1933 ...

" (

George Bassman George Bassman (February 7, 1914 – June 26, 1997) was an American composer and arranger. Biography Born in New York City to a Ukrainian- and Lithuanian-Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at th ...

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Bes ...

) – 4:13 # "My Funny Valentine lternate Take– 6:54 # "Romain" lternate Take– 5:24 ''Recorded on April 24 (#2, 7, 8) and May 14 (all others), 1962.''

Personnel

* Bill Evans – piano * Jim Hall – guitar

References

External links

Jazz Discography entries for Bill Evans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Undercurrent (Bill Evans And Jim Hall Album) 1962 albums Bill Evans albums Albums produced by Alan Douglas (record producer) Albums produced by Michael Cuscuna Blue Note Records albums Jim Hall (musician) albums Solid State Records (jazz label) albums Collaborative albums