BLUE IN GREEN: TRIBUTE TO BILL EVANS
Paul Lay and his trio - Dré Pallemaerts (drums) and Clemens Van der Feen (double bass) - revisit some of the most beautiful compositions by Bill Evans (Blue in Green, Very Early, The two lonely people), as well as great jazz standards of which he was the reference interpreter: Alice in Wonderland, or You must Believe in Spring. Paul Lay pays tribute to this exceptional composer and melodic improviser who revolutionized the art of the piano-bass-drums trio.
Recorded live at La Piccola Scala in February 2022, "Blue in Green" is the first jazz record to be released by the Scala Music label, already in the special selection of music store Fnac .
“Without being an obvious follower in Bill Evans’s footsteps, Paul Lay manages to follow the delicate outlines of his music admirably without ever ceasing to be himself. It is astonishing to hear Bill Evans’s subtle musicality, elegance and melancholy allied with Paul Lay’s hunger, dynamics and tremendous vitality.”
TITLES
1.Minority - 7:40 (Gigi Gryce)
2. Alice in Wonderland - 9:32 (Sammy Fain)
3.Interplay - 9:59 (Bill Evans)
4. Blue in Green - 10:04 (Bill Evans)
5.Peri's Scope - 6:26 (Bill Evans)
6. The Two Lonely People - 11:07 (Bill Evans)
7.Funkallero - 11-15 (Bill Evans)
“ The pandemic kept Dré, Clemens and me away from the stage for two years. When the team at La Scala offered me this residence at La Scala Paris with three concerts in Spring 2022, I jumped at the chance to get us all together again. In its ten years of existence, this trio has made two discs (Mikado in 2014 and The Party in 2017), mainly playing my own works.
For La Scala, I wanted our trio to work in greater depth around the legendary figure of Bill Evans, who has inspired us enormously, both through his own compositions and the hits he loved to play. This live recording shows just how magical improvisation can be : the covid rules meant that we couldn't rehearse beforehand ; what's more, it was the first time we had set up our mikes in La Piccola Scala.
No safety nets, then, for this recording, where our joy at being together again led us down new pathways which we explored at the same time as our listeners, where our close rapport produced new ideas and devices which made the show even more enjoyable for us.”
— Paul Lay