Village Vanguard session with Bill Evans

1. If the recording took place in a studio with a typical studio atmosphere (a bit sterile), would you still hold it in high regard?
2. Would you classify this recording as "great" because of it's highly "organized" character with implementation of notes in an "economic", almost Zenlike way, like Kind of Blue, Out to Lunch and A Love Supreme?

Chris

Hi Newbee, I'm just trying to find out a reason why this is a great recording. Cincy bob has already given his explanation, which is to me a very insightful one. Many thanks!
No, it's not that I don't like Bill Evans. In fact I like his style of playing very much and I think the Village Vanguard recordings are wonderful. I'm comparing the Village Vanguard sessions with Kind of Blue because I can draw some parallels between these two. For example: Bill Evans Trio played as if there is only one "corpus" and one mind playing. The same holds true for the Miles Davis Quintet in Kind of Blue. Both ensembles played as much notes as needed, not more (this is what I call Zenlike). You can hear the same qualities in Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch and John Coltrane's A Love Supreme.

Chris

Yes, I wish I could have met him too. He looked like a "nerd" at time of the interview (and at time of the classic Village Vanguard recordings) but what a genius he was! It wouldn't surprise me if he was already playing piano when he was six years old (improvising on "One Day My Prince Will come").

Chris

Hi Ghosthouse, thank you for sharing my thoughts. First I would like to say that I personally think the Village Vanguard sessions are quite extraordinary and beautiful. I started this thread because I would like to know from you (fellow music lovers) what is in your opinion the ultimate reason why this particular recording is so "great". Today I heard the slow part (Largo) from J.S. Bach's third Sonata for unaccompanied violin. If you know this piece, you'll understand what I am trying to say. I'm not saying that Bill or Miles play few notes: they play as much notes as necessary, not more, not less, and each of those notes has it's own unique place within the structure of the music. That is what I call "Zenlike", because (forgive me if I'm wrong, I'm not an expert in this field) the Zen philosophy is about the "essence" of things. This essence can be found in the Village Vanguard sessions, but also in Picasso's Guernica, Miles Kind of Blue, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Bach's Sonata for unaccompanied violin, Charles Eames' Lounge Chair, Rubik's Cube, the classic Mercedes-Benz "Gullwing" model, etc.

Chris

Ghosthouse, thank you very much for the link. This is truly unbelievable. I'm flabbergasted. Bill was a genius, some kind of Mozart on the piano. Everything he played was a reflecting of his unconscious mind. This level of playing can't be learned even if you are a quite talented piano player.
Happy New Year to you too!

Chris