BILL EVANS “In Norway”

ARTIST

Bill Evans

ALBUM TITLE

“In Norway”

LABEL

Elemental

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Almost eighty minutes of previously unreleased Bill Evans is always a gift – and in recent years, we’ve been fortunate to receive such gifts with some frequency. This Norwegian live recording from 1970 fits comfortably into that welcome tradition, presenting thirteen tracks of roughly similar length, with the notable exception of the closing Nardis, which stretches out expansively. The disputed authorship of Nardis – claimed by both Miles Davis and Evans – is only one of many points of interest here. The program also includes Come Rain or Come Shine, which opens the set, Autumn Leaves, So What, Gloria’s Step, and two Evans originals, 34 Skidoo and Turn Out the Stars, placed back-to-back early in the concert.

What emerges throughout is Evans’s unmistakable mastery – his elegance, poise, and capacity to let the music breathe. These qualities shine most clearly in the more reflective pieces, though his art has always depended equally on the contrast with livelier, swinging passages. Eddie Gomez proves a dynamic partner, his bass interludes sometimes stretching perhaps too far, yet providing a vital counterpoint to Evans’s flow. Marty Morell, for his part, contributes with exemplary precision and understated effectiveness, anchoring the trio with clarity and drive.

In Norway stands as another valuable document of a period when Evans was refining the balance between lyricism and energy, intimacy and interplay. A new chapter in the ever-expanding Evans discography – and one that leaves us eager for the next discovery.

—Alberto Bazzurro

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