''The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961'', a three-CD box set released in 2005, marks the first time the entire Bill Evans Trio's complete sets at the

Village Vanguard The Village Vanguard is a jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on February 22, 1935, by Max Gordon. Originally, the club presented folk music and beat poetry, but it became primarily a jazz ...

on June 25, 1961 have been released in their entirety (outside of the twelve-disc set containing Evans' complete Riverside recordings). It also marks the first US release of the first take of "Gloria's Step," which is incomplete due to a power failure. These sets, from which the classic LPs ''

Sunday at the Village Vanguard ''Sunday at the Village Vanguard'' is a live album by jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans and his Trio consisting of Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. Released in 1961, the album is routinely ranked as one of the best live jaz ...

'' and '' Waltz for Debby'' were drawn, were the trio's final live recordings. Bassist

Scott LaFaro Rocco Scott LaFaro (April 3, 1936 – July 6, 1961) was an American jazz double bassist known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio. LaFaro broke new ground on the instrument, developing a countermelodic style of accompaniment rather than playing ...

would die in an automobile accident on July 6. The album was deemed by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" and added to the United States National Recording Registry for the year 2009.National Recording Preservation Board, 2009 Selections
/ref>

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''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 ...

included the set as part of its suggested "core collection".

Track listing

Disc one

Afternoon Set 1

# Spoken introduction # "Gloria's Step" (Take 1, interrupted) (Scott LaFaro) # "Alice in Wonderland" (Take 1) ( Sammy Fain-

Bob Hilliard Bob Hilliard (born Hilliard Goldsmith; January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971) was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs: "Alice in Wonderland", "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", " Any Day Now", " Dear Hearts and Gentle ...

) b# " My Foolish Heart" (

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

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 ...

) # " All of You" (Take 1) ( Cole Porter) # Announcement and intermission

Afternoon Set 2

# " My Romance" (Take 1) ( Richard Rodgers- Lorenz Hart) # "Some Other Time" ( Leonard Bernstein-

Betty Comden Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned ...

Adolph Green Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Ar ...

) # " Solar" (

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

)

Disc two

Evening Set 1

# "Gloria's Step" (Take 2) # "

My Man's Gone Now "My Man's Gone Now" is an aria composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward, written for the opera '' Porgy and Bess'' (1935). Sung in the original production by Ruby Elzy, it has been covered by many singers, notably Ella Fitzgera ...

" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

- Ira Gershwin- DuBose Heyward) # "All of You" (Take 2) # "

Detour Ahead "Detour Ahead" is a jazz standard with words and music credited to Herb Ellis, Johnny Frigo, and Lou Carter. The song was written in 1948 while Carter, Ellis and Frigo were part of The Soft Winds, a group they created after leaving Jimmy Dorsey' ...

" (Take 1) (Lou Carter- Herb Ellis-Johnny Frigo) b

Evening Set 2

# Discussing repertoire # " Waltz for Debby" (Take 1) (Bill Evans-Gene Lees) b# "Alice in Wonderland" (Take 2) # " Porgy (I Loves You, Porgy)" (George Gershwin-Ira Gershwin-DuBose Heyward) b# " My Romance" (Take 2) b# "

Milestones A milestone is a marker of distance along roads. Milestone may also refer to: Measurements *Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project *Software release life cycle state, s ...

" (

)

Disc Three

Evening Set 3

# "Detour Ahead" (Take 2) # "Gloria's Step" (Take 3) b# "Waltz for Debby" (Take 2) # "All of You" (Take 3) b# "Jade Visions" (Take 1) (Scott LaFaro) b# "Jade Visions" (Take 2) # ...A few final bars

Relation to original LPs

Tracks marked with were originally released on ''Sunday at the Village Vanguard.'' The original running order was: # "Gloria's Step" (evening set 1, take 2) # "My Man's Gone Now" (evening set 1) # "Solar" (afternoon set 2) # "Alice in Wonderland" (evening set 2, take 2) # "All of You" (evening set 1, take 2) # "Jade Visions" (evening set 3, take 2) In addition, tracks marked with bwere bonus tracks on the CD reissue. Tracks marked with were originally released on ''Waltz for Debby.'' The original running order was: # "My Foolish Heart" (afternoon set 1) # "Waltz for Debby" (evening set 3, take 2) # "Detour Ahead" (evening set 3, take 2) # "My Romance" (afternoon set 2, take 1) # "Some Other Time" (afternoon set 2) # "Milestones" (evening set 2) In addition, tracks marked with bwere bonus tracks on the CD reissue.

Personnel

* Bill Evans – piano *

– bass *

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the ...

– drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 Albums produced by Orrin Keepnews Bill Evans live albums 2005 live albums 2005 compilation albums United States National Recording Registry recordings Albums recorded at the Village Vanguard United States National Recording Registry albums