The Bill Evans Trio's 1973 concert in Tokyo was his first recording for Fantasy and it produced yet another Grammy-nomination for the presentation. With bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell, this LP mixes offbeat songs with overlooked gems, familiar standards, and surprisingly, only one Evans composition, the demanding T.T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune Two).

• Sony Japan Limited Edition
• Jazz Analog Legendary Collection
• Premium Deluxe Cover
• 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl
• Pressed at Sony Pressing in Japan
• Mastered by Mark Wilder from Original Master Tapes
• Supervised by Masamichi Okazaki and Koki Hanawa
• Japanese OBI Strip

The Bill Evans Trio's 1973 concert recorded at the Yubin Chokin Hall in Tokyo, was his first recording for Fantasy and it produced yet another Grammy-nomination for the presentation. With bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell, this LP mixes offbeat songs with overlooked gems, familiar standards, and surprisingly, only one Evans composition, the demanding "T.T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune Two)." Bobbie Gentry's "Mornin' Glory" was an unusual choice to open the performance and seems a bit conservative for Evans. The adrenaline picks up considerably with his midtempo waltzing take of Jerome Kern's "Up with the Lark" and a driving "My Romance." Evans also revisits the twisting Scott LaFaro tune "Gloria's Step," which showcases both Gomez and Morell. The closer, "On Green Dolphin Street," is given a slight bossa nova flavor and isn't nearly as aggressive as most of the pianist's live recordings of this popular standard.

Jazz critic Kiyoshi Koyama found that Evans's playing was different, more fresh and colourful. He, and his aficionados, also noted a change in Evans' clothes: black tuxedo, bright pink shirt; "reportedly, this was the first time he had ever chosen such bold colors." The album includes "Hullo Bolinas", a Steve Swallow composition named after a town in California, which is one of the few Evans' piano solos; Eddie Gomez "brought the tune to Bill's attention just before the trio left for Japan." After the trio played it during a public performance, "Morell expressed the opinion that the number would have greater impact without bass and drums." Evans was convinced by Morell, so he played it alone. This piece was Evans's only piano solo of the whole Japanese tour.

Musicians: 

Piano – Bill Evans
Bass – Eddie Gomez
Drums – Marty Morell

Credits:

Cover Design – Mitsuru Yamada
CBS/Sony Production Director – Kiyoshi Itoh
Engineer – Kenichi Handa, Tomoo Suzuki, Yuichi Maejima
MC – Teruo Isono
Photography By (Cover & Back Cover) – Tadayuki Naitoh
Producer – Helen Keane
Supervised by Masamichi Okazaki and Koki Hanawa

Track Listing:

01. "Mornin' Glory" (Bobbie Gentry) – 5:17
02. "Up with the Lark" (Jerome Kern, Leo Robin) – 6:36
03. "Yesterday I Heard the Rain" (Gene Lees, Armando Manzanero) – 6:24
04. "My Romance" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 8:32
05. "When Autumn Comes" (Clare Fischer) – 5:54
06. "T.T.T.T. (Twelve Tone Tune Two)" (Bill Evans) – 6:22
07. "Hullo Bolinas" (Steve Swallow) – 3:46
08. "Gloria's Step" (Scott LaFaro) – 7:07
09. "On Green Dolphin Street" (Bronisław Kaper, Ned Washington) – 6:38

Recorded at Yūbin Chokin Hall, Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 1973.

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