Some reissues include four bonus tracks, including two alternate takes and previously unheard versions of "Stairway to the Stars" and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You. They were part of a circle of musicians in New York in the early sixties, centred on George Russell, and including Jimmy Giuffre and Gil Evans, all united in a common aesthetic. I'm glad to have it in my collection, but I will view it as a placeholder until a better pressing comes along. The front cover image for Undercurrent is Toni Frissell's photograph "Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida".

For Evans, the duet clearly functions as therapy, a healing episode in which his partner patiently lays back, shadowing moves and suggesting others, neither musician interested in the spotlight but each striving for (and achieving) transcendent beauty. If it was hard to believe earlier that there weren’t three players, here it’s difficult to accept there’s more than one, so unified and harmonious are Hall and Evans in their playing. At the time it was as distinctive as the record it contained, indicating — as far as jazz was concerned — we really were no longer in Kansas. I have a nearly perfect copy except for smudges and I don't know how to clean it, or if that is possible. I Hear a Rhapsody is an extraordinary exercise in leisurely poise, forming a seamless musical statement.Later, the album was reissued on the Blue Note label; both Blue Note and United Artists Records have been part of the same catalog for many decades. At times, Evans and Hall go for broke on a hard-swinging romps, yet it’s their implied melancholy and drifting, softly struck melodic refrains on waltzes and ballads that bestows Undercurrent with a nuanced romanticism and whispered atmosphere befitting the record’s title. No other version outside of this analogue copy brings you face-to-face with these two jazz giants’ sonic communion, a kind of spiritual musical summit on which Evans’ deft keyboard touches and Hall’s reliably subtle phrasings seamlessly mesh and wonderfully dance, the compositions streaked with natural instrumental decay, full-frequency extensions, and poignant emotionalism that, on this LP, you can feel. Mastered on Mobile Fidelity’s world-renowned mastering system and pressed at RTI, this Silver Label LP edition bursts forth with brilliant textures, you-are-there realism, and extraordinary tonalities. Indeed, even the album’s cover – an iconic photograph by Toni Frissell – exhibits the surreal, almost-hallucinogenic properties of the fare contained within.

Evans and Hall had first recorded together in July of 1959, during the making of John Lewis’ LP Odds Against Tomorrow, and the two musicians also participated on Gunther Schuller’s Jazz Abstractions (recorded in December of 1960). Il disco da il meglio di se soprattutto in formato vinile e risulta estremamente appetibile anche per i non addetti ai lavori o chi semplicemente cerca un jazz elegante e magistrale. My favourite pieces at the moment are Evans' own composition "Romain", which is an extraordinarily melancholy piece of NY bedsit music. Other than four piano solos from April 4, 1962, this set was pianist Bill Evans' first recordings after a hiatus caused by bassist Scott LaFaro's tragic death in a car accident.Even though it only features two instruments for the whole duration, it never ever becomes one-dimensional or repetetive. The first of two meetings on record in a duo format with guitarist Jim Hall, the collaborations are often exquisite. These cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of the site, you can disable them by changing the settings of your browser but you will not be able to use the site normally. The results of these sessions were quite the opposite, though, thanks to the tranquil and poetic use of space which gives Undercurrent its uniquely relaxed, and relaxing, quality.

And maybe I'm totally wrong here but, wasn't this record released on the United Artists Jazz label in 1962 - and not on Blue Note as stated on the jacket and mofi labels? I was fortunate to find a VG copy of this early pressing which cleaned up beautifully, no crackles nor surface noise of any kind. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. While Evans managed to sit down for a few one-off takes between LaFaro’s passing and these April-May 1962 dates, he largely remained on hiatus and abstained from recording.

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has been the undisputed pioneer and leader in audiophile recordings since the company's inception in 1977. Questo disco rappresenta una pietra miliare nella storia del jazz e rappresenta ai massimi livelli la capacità di interplay e di arrangiamento di due musicisti straordinari, quali Evans e Hall, che condividono la stessa idea di suoni.